An Old Friend, Now An Enemy Again
by UpbeatButNegative
Summary: This story contains Sonamy, Taiream, Knuxouge and Silvaze. Only two weeks have passed since the great battle with Metal Sonic and Mecha Sonic ended in victory. However, in the shadows of the Egg Carrier, a new evil slowly grows to power. In another battle between good and evil, will Sonic and friends bring home Gemerl, will Eggman finally win or will the new evil exact his revenge?
1. Two Weeks Later

~Guess who's making the comeback? Me, UpbeatButNegative!~

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**I own no Sonic characters. Credits to Sega.**

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It's been a while since I finished my fic 'Advice with Knuckles the Echidna?', but with summer vacation finally here, I'll get straight to the action.

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, flamers and trolls, UpbeatButNegative presents to you all the next big project, 'An Old Friend, Now An Enemy Again', the sequel to 'Metal Sonic's Rebellion'!

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Two weeks...

Only two weeks have passed since the great battle with Metal Sonic and Mecha Sonic ended in victory. Fortunately, damages were easily amended in the two weeks that went by swiftly and there was peace and harmony once again.

However, two power hungry scientists, one of Mobius and the other of another world, have come regrouped once again. They may have finally come up with a foolproof plan to grind their nemeses down their heels and finally rule the world. Meanwhile, in the shadows of the Egg Carrier, one evil slowly grows in power. Power for revenge. Power that has stemmed to this being's origins and abandonment.

Join Sonic and friends in another adventure to fight evil. Will they win once again? Will the enemy scientists finally win? Or will the new evil rise and destroy everything for the sake of revenge? Only time will tell...

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"There we go! That's the last Chaos Emerald buried! Let's go home now, Tails!"

A blue hedgehog, accompanied by a yellow, two tailed fox, just finished burying these sacred gems. But why would these two heroes, who know their true power, scatter them in the middles of different nowheres?

"Um, Sonic. Why are we doing this again?" Tails asked, concerned.

"If they're all gathered in one, obvious spot, a certain egg head will be able to steal them all easily!"

"Now, now. Remember how this 'egg head' helped us out in that battle two weeks ago? He deserves our respect, now."

It was quite a sight to see on that battle near the majestic Angel Island.

"I'm not sure about bowing down to him, but..." Sonic sighed, swinging his iron shovel over his shoulder. "Why did Metal Sonic and Mecha Sonic suddenly turn on Eggman? It just doesn't add up? But back to my main point: by scattering the emeralds, Eggman will have a hard time searching for them."

"But what if he gets them? What'll we do?"

"We'll get them back like we always do!"

"But then-"

"Damn it, Tails! Stop asking me questions!" Sonic snapped, his eyes' irises suddenly flashing a bright red. The fox stepped back in fear immediately, before Sonic's eyes turned back to normal.

He questioned his well being, being his best friend, but Sonic insisted that he was fine. As the two friends were about to board Tails' plane, head for home and get off the barren wasteland, Sonic stopped in his tracks.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Tails asked. "Let's go."

"You go right ahead," Sonic smiled.

"But-"

"I have something to do in these parts."

"these parts? But Sonic, you don't know this place at all! And how will you find your way home?"

"I'll call for you," the blue hedgehog reassured his little buddy. "We have our phones, don't we?"

"Something's wrong with you, and I know it," Tails stated. "But I'll guess I'll leave you to your business, if it's that important."

With that, Tails hopped on the plane, started the engine and in no time flat, he was off in the sky.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Sonic smirked. Immediately after Tails was out of sight, he drove his hand in the sand and retrieved the cyan Chaos Emerald. After tossing it in the air, he removed his gloves. Eye witnesses would be devastated to be revealed the fact that instead of hedgehog hands, metal claws shined! At once, Sonic's body turned into a silvery liquid ooze. The body melted and reformed into a robot, but not just any robot.

Its eyes glowed with evil. A sharp horn morphed on its forehead and fins formed from the horn, the arms and the legs. A third eye of hatred and rage shot open from the horn.

This wasn't Sonic at all. This was...

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**~An Old Friend, Now An Enemy Again~**

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Well, there you have it. A short prologue to my main project. I hope you've enjoyed reading the little intro, as much as I've enjoyed writing it. If not, then fear me, for it will be back! It'll return to the top of the list of submitted/updated Sonic fics over and over again for the rest of summer!

~Have a great day, week, fortnight, month, whatever. Man, it's good to be back!~


	2. Prelude To Another Adventure

**I own no Sonic characters. Credits to Sega.**

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This is a sequel to 'Metal Sonic's Rebellion'. To entertain yourselves or get the backstory to this fic, check it out first.

If you've just come from this chapter, please read from the beginning to avoid any confusion.

* * *

Before I begin, I'd like to thank AnimeFanGirl7218 and The DragonLord2912 for adding this story to their story alerts and PnFfan101 and The DragonLord2912 for adding this story to their favorites.

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I'm sorry for the wait. My internet got busted. Now that it and I are back, though, it's time for the story to really begin. While I don't plan on this story or its prequel to become too big in the fanbase, I'm glad people enjoy it already. Be prepared, though, as this may be a bit darker than the prequel.

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Emerald Town.

Thanks to one robot, what was once a place of peace turned into a war zone. The citizens were ordered to immediately evacuate the area. They, along with most of Mobius' heroes, merely watched in awe at the battle that had begun.

The robot looked a lot like the legendary hero Sonic the Hedgehog, except he showed off an all blue body and was slightly taller than the original. After a long, hard fought battle, his hands were cupped and a bright red energy ball gathered in them.

Mecha Sonic's opponent, growing weary from the fight that had occurred, clenched his fists, thrust his arms out to his sides and opened his hands, charging red energy balls. He then threw his hands back together, amplifying the power of the energy ball.

"Chaos... Blast!"

Two power packed waves of energy crashed into each other and each one struggled to overpower the other. As more power was forced out, the blasts grew bigger and bigger. Quickly, they reached the point where the waves couldn't handle the energy pulsing from the two fighters' hands and exploded at the blink of an eye.

"Woah!"

From the mountainside, Knuckles the Echidna and everyone else could see a gigantic blood red explosion engulf the entire town.

Meanwhile, among the remains of many buildings, Shadow the Hedgehog panted in exhaustion.

_Damn it! How could this guy be so much stronger than before?_

To pour salt on the already open wound, Mecha Sonic looked less scathed from the recent beam struggle. After a few seconds of recovery, he dashed at Shadow, but was stopped immediately by another robot. This one, however, looked more like Sonic than the other one did - same size and same shape, but different eye color.

"WHY DO YOU STAND IN MY WAY?" Mecha Sonic demanded to know. "IF WE FINISH HIM, THE TEAM HAS NO HOPE!"

"I'M AWARE OF THAT, YOU FOOL," Metal Sonic stated. "HOWEVER, THE DOCTORS HAVE NEW ORDERS FOR US. GEMERL HAS DONE HIS JOB IN SCATTERING THE CHAOS EMERALDS AND THE DOCTORS NEED US TO FIND THEM. WE MUST RETURN TO THE EGG CARRIER FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS. THERE IS NO TIME TO WASTE IN DEALING WITH THESE MEATBAGS."

"GAH. SO NOW, HE'S USING US AS FETCHERS? OUT OF ALL THE-"

"WE MUST NOT QUESTION THE DOCTORS' ORDERS," Metal Sonic reminded Mecha Sonic. "THE BATTLE FROM TWO WEEKS AGO MUST STILL REMAIN IN YOUR DATABASE, CORRECT?"

"GRR... WELL, IF IT WEREN'T FOR THE DOCTORS' AID, WE WOULD BE SCRAPPED," Mecha Sonic said. "FINE. WE'LL TAKE OUR LEAVE."

After the two clones of Sonic gave their words of warning to Shadow, they glowed a bright blue. In an instant, they vanished.

"Shadow!"

He turned behind him to see the rest of the team running towards him. Afterwards, they heard the sound of spinning rotors and felt a slight gust. Altogether, they looked up into the gray sky and saw a plane and a very familiar pilot - Tails. After he landed the plane, Knuckles stepped to him.

"Hey, where's Sonic?"

"He had something to do after we buried the Emeralds," the fox explained.

"Sonic?" Vector questioned him. "The big bot that was just here said that Gemerl did this.

"Gemerl!" Tails jumped after hearing that name. "No, that's not possible. He's been gone for a while now, even after the battle with Metal and Mecha Sonic. If he was there with me, where's Sonic?"

At that moment, Rouge and Espio cringed. Immediately, Knuckles rushed to his girlfriend's side, while Charmy went to Espio.

"You okay, Esp?" Charmy asked him. "It's not like to show any emotion, let alone show worry!"

"We..." The chameleon turned to Rouge. "No, I. I have failed you, my friends."

"No, Espio, it's alright. I'll take responsibility," Rouge assured him. "After all, as a spy, you can't just sit back and watch as something bad happens."

"Um... Please explain," little Cream requested. At this, Rouge sighed, but she began the story anyway.

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**One Week Ago...**

There was a news broadcast from the Central City news station about suspicious activity going on at sea, rumors claiming it to be another one of Dr Eggman's schemes.

Being a part time spy, Rouge the Bat needed to get the scoop, but for the sake of entertainment, decided to being one of her friends along. Though she was told by nearly everyone that there was nothing to worry about and any problems would be taken care of, she felt in her gut that this time was serious. There was, however, a certain chameleon that felt the same way. The next day, Rouge and Espio began to investigate the scene of the suspicious activity.

Borrowing two of Tails' motorboats, they headed for the Egg Carrier, the number one hotspot for any kind of suspicious activity of any kind. However, what the two spies found in the Egg Carrier's Construction Room was a lot more than they expected.

In there, they found three robots, two of which resembled Sonic in a way and the third of which looked somewhat familiar. However, neither Espio or Rouge jumped to conclusions. The robots were accompanied by two unfortunately familiar scientists, each wearing different suits. Grooming their mustaches, the younger looking scientist slammed his fist on a table.

"That's it!"

"What have you thinking, Eggman?" the other asked.

"Well, Nega, I was thinking. Since we have those two pesky rodents and their feline friend captured over here, we could use their appearances to have our three robots gather the emeralds."

"Hmm... Elaborate."

"Ugh. Of course..."

The two talked on and on about what they would do. When Espio and Rouge felt that they gained enough information, they snuck out.

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**The Present Day...**

"I should have told you all about it!"

Rouge smashed her fist on a nearby building and felt the bones in her fingers crack slightly.

"Damn it... It's all my fault..."

"What's all your fault?"

Everyone turned to the remains of a tree and were astonished at what they laid their eyes on. It was Sonic, Silver and Blaze! They were alive! Along with the three friends was a rather large, red robot. Amy Rose immediately glomped Sonic and everyone laughed away.

"I heard you, Silver and Blaze were captured," she said after calming down. "How did you get out?"

"The Eggheads threw us out when they were done with us," Sonic replied. "But not before Metal, Mecha and Gemerl pummeled us all."

"Man, they were a lot stronger than they were before!" Silver sighed. "Why can't we keep up?"

"We didn't know where we were after being thrown out," Sonic continued. "But thanks to Omega's tracking skills, we were found and, thanks to Blaze, were able to bandage up our wounds."

After taking a glance around, he found Tails, Rouge and Espio looking down at the ground. The three of them felt that they failed Sonic.

"Rouge, Espio, I didn't want you two to put yourselves in danger, just to find out what's going on," he told them. "While I know you were trying to help, it would actually be worse for us all if you were caught."

"Huh? You knew we were there?" Rouge gasped.

"Not really," Sonic answered. "I had a feeling someone would come for me after the news of the 'suspicious activity' came round. Yeah, Eggman's got a TV in the Egg Carrier! But it's pretty crap..."

Everyone shrugged their shoulders, except Tails. Sonic noticed this and walked up to him.

"What's wrong, buddy?"

"Sonic... I..." Tears began to swell up. "I helped the bad guys get the emeralds!"

"What? How?"

Tails explained everything, in fear of being hated. However, Sonic showed no sign of anger or hate. In fact, he seemed slightly excited.

"You asked what would happen if Eggman got the emeralds, right?" he asked Tails.

"Yeah. Why?"

"And Gemerl, for the sake of being me, told you that we would get them back, like we always do?"

"Yeah..."

"Let's go, then, and get them back!"

Everyone cheered at the idea, for Sonic was back.

"There is one problem," Blaze stated.

"Huh?" Charmy turned to her. "Well, being that you and Silver are from a different world and only lived here for a month or two, you probably don't know much about what goes on."

"Sonic always wins!" Knuckles added. "And we guarantee no problems whatsoever when we go off to fry that Eggman! I'm sure you do that with Eggman Nega, but whatever."

"No, you two. It's not that I fear failure," Blaze assured them.

"Then, what's the problem?"

"It's getting pretty late."

Charmy and Knuckles facepalmed. The thought of getting some sleep when the world is at stake went well with them like hunting furry little creatures for fun. It just didn't add up!

"She's right, guys," Sonic spoke up. "I know I'd do anything to save the world, but we'd be nothing if we rushed ahead without getting some energy first?"

It didn't take too much convincing to change their minds. And so, the group was split up and everyone headed for home to rest for another adventure to save the world.

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**Meanwhile, at the Egg Carrier...**

A lone doll laid in the Scrapping Room. The red gem attached above its head seemed to have lost its glow. Suddenly, as if it reacted to an amazing power, the doll's head shot up from the pile of scrap parts. After its eyes raged in red and the gem turned black, in a low, yet dangerous, voice, it said one word.

"Revenge..."

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So, yeah, as you can guess, this story will be about getting the Chaos Emeralds back before Metal Sonic and Mecha Sonic do. Meanwhile, we have this doll talking of revenge. What's gonna happen next? I'm not telling! It adds to the suspense and I'm not a fan of giving or taking spoilers.

~Have a great day, week, fortnight, month, whatever~


	3. The Truth About Mecha Sonic

**I own no Sonic characters. Credits to Sega.**

* * *

This is a sequel to 'Metal Sonic's Rebellion'. To entertain yourselves or get the backstory to this fic, check it out first.

If you've just come from this chapter, please read from the beginning to avoid any confusion.

* * *

Before I begin, I'l like to thank TheBlueAlienRobotZombie for adding this story to their story alerts and favorites.

Reply to TheBlueAlienRobotZombie's review of Chapter 1: I know, right? It's the end of the world!

Reply to TheBlueAlienRobotZombie's review of Chapter 2: But is this Tails Doll another copy, like in Metal Sonic's Rebellion, or otherwise? And why is it that specific one that wants revenge?

Now, now, we'll get to the romance soon. You see, from this point on, I'd prefer not to use romance too much. I might focus on using romance as a subplot or something for a filler arc.

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So, what happened after Metal Sonic and Mecha Sonic returned to the Egg Carrier? Today, a shocking (yeah right) truth about Mecha Sonic will be unveiled. Also in this chapter, the past will be referenced once again to assist a certain someone with the present.

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**That Night, In the Egg Carrier...**

On orders of Dr Eggman, Metal Sonic and Mecha Sonic arrived in the Main Hall to receive their orders. As self centered as the doctor is, he was seen resting on his custom made throne, while Eggman Nega ushered the two Sonic clones into the room. They saw a surprisingly optimistic look on Eggman's face.

"The time has come," he stated. "The time has come to gather the Chaos Emeralds."

"Since Sonic and his friends will taking this night to rest, this is the perfect time to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds," Nega continued.

"Yes, by the time those rats wake up, I'll be ruler of the world!" Eggman bellowed, raising his arms up high. To this, Eggman Nega cleared his throat loudly. "I mean, we will... Sorry about that. It's just, you know, finally, things will go our way!"

"Yes, I can see why you would get excited," Nega agreed. "But don't get too cocky. It could break down what we've been building up since two weeks ago! And anyway, shouldn't you reconsider charging to action now?"

"Bah! They'll never expect this!" Eggman laughed. Then, though, a thought occurred to him. What if, in secret, one of Sonic's friends was sent to spy on him and ruin his plans? "Although... Yes... That could work just as well..."

"What will?" Nega asked. Meanwhile, Metal Sonic and Mecha Sonic listened intently.

"Metal Sonic!" Eggman addressed to him. "You will get back the Chaos Emeralds alone!"

"LOCATIONS REQUIRED." After he was given the seven areas, Metal Sonic took off.

After Mecha Sonic asked what his orders were, Eggman stared out the base, answering, "They'll be expecting this, especially some of Sonic's more clever and cunning friends. Mecha Sonic, instead of joining Metal Sonic, you'll... dispose of them."

"TARGETS ACQUIRED: MILES TAILS PROWER, ROUGE THE BAT, ESPIO THE CHAMELEON, **SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG**. PRIORITY SET TO ELIMINATING SHADOW."

With his targets recorded in his database, Mecha Sonic headed out.

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**Outside The Main Hall...**

As Mecha Sonic walked through the corridor, he began to pick up a slight moan from the Scrapping Room. Instead of ignoring it and carrying out his orders, the robot stepped into the room and began scanning it for the source of the noise. He locked onto a lone doll that was just floating above the piles of scrap metal. Suddenly, its attached gem glowed red and its eyes shone.

"I.. seek... revenge!" the doll managed to say.

"WHAT? ... DOES NOT COMPUTE." Mecha Sonic said to no one in particular. He stepped out of the room. "CONTINUING MISSION."

"Hah!"

In an instant, Mecha Sonic was frozen on the spot, as if he was held there by a strange power.

"ARGH! I CANNOT MOVE!"

"Of course you can't, my friend," a sinister voice told him. The floating doll appeared right behind Mecha Sonic and spoke to him. "You, too, seek revenge, do you not?"

"YOU SPEAK ILLOGICALLY!"

"Do I, Mecha Sonic?"

The doll disappeared from behind Mecha Sonic. He reappeared in front of his face!

"I, the real Tails Doll, was tossed aside by my creator, as if I was a mere toy! And you, Mecha Sonic. You, Metal Sonic and Metal Knuckles used clones of me to assist you three! That insults me!"

"..."

"You must be thinking 'How does he know?'. I'll have you know this. I was conscious all along! That little doll everyone in the Egg Carrier ignored was alive the whole time! Oh, yes. I heard it all. The upgrade 'malfunction'. How it was all Gemerl and Nega's doing. I heard it all! Yet, in all of the doctors' plan discussing, not once was I mentioned. Not once! I was abandoned! Thrown away! Forgotten! You have nothing in your precious database that can help you comprehend the pain I've suffered! The loneliness and the darkness all consumed me."

"HM? WHAT'S THIS? SCANNING POWER LEVELS..." A little while after, a high pitched beep was heard. "POWER LEVELS SLOWLY INCREASING TO DANGEROUS LEVELS!"

"Ah, how keen of you to notice," Tails Doll said. "You should know that while I was trapped in the Scrapping Room, waiting for the day I was to turn to scrap and finally be put out of my misery, I felt a growing power inside of me. This was the rage I felt for my creator. I wanted revenge for what he did to me and I still lust for it to this day!"

Mecha Sonic and Tails just glared at each other silently.

"I'll let you on something," the sinister Tails copy told Mecha Sonic. "You know that I was created before you were, correct?"

"APPROXIMATELY A MONTH BEFORE."

"And I was tossed away before half of it!" Tails Doll snapped, his eyes glowing red with rage, before taking a second to calm down. The redness of his eyes dimmed. "As I was about to say, you, my friend, were not meant to be."

"ILLOGICAL!"

"Ah, but it is logical. I overheard it all. When you were first created, you were put in the Testing Room to analyze your abilities and flaws. However, your flaws were too severe to fix, so he decided to dismantle you."

"..."

"But then, at the last second, he changed his mind. After doing his best to fix you of your flaws, he told the other Sonic clone, Metal Sonic, that you were to be kept around and would make for some useful 'spare parts' for him when the time came."

"!"

"But, because you're here now, I must assume that the time never came."

"GRR..."

"The doctor never bothered to erase any memory of your initial tests, so I know you still have it in you. Don't deny it, Mecha Sonic. You knew all along, didn't you?"

"GRR... YOU ARE CORRECT," Mecha Sonic admitted.

"You have been living a lie," Tails Doll told him. "And now, I say the best thing to do now is ditch that old doctor and take revenge. But the choice is yours, I suppose."

Events of past events played in Mecha Sonic's database. For the first time, he was confused and didn't know what to do. he was about to leave the room, but before he took a step out, he turned his head back to Tails Doll.

"YOU SEEK REVENGE ON DR EGGMAN, TOO, DON'T YOU?"

"I do not know what you call him nowadays. But, yes, I want to see him suffer by my hand! What of it?"

"... I WILL JOIN YOU."

"What?"

"DR EGGMAN IS NOW MY ENEMY." His eyes glowed purple. COMMENCING MASTER REGISTRATION DELETION."

* * *

**The Next Morning, Outside Sonic and Tails' House...**

After a long night of sleep, Sonic and the others regrouped at his house. Once again, Cream's chao, Cheese, was left in the care of her mother. What was out of the ordinary, everyone noticed, was that Vector was absent. This was because of his new relationship with Vanilla, Cream's mom. He decided to leave himself out the Chaos Emerald hunt, to protect Vanilla.**  
**

"If that's the case, then we'll split into two groups," Sonic decided.

"One for getting the emeralds and another for protecting our homes?" Tails inquired.

"Yeah. While we're out there, those goons could attack Emerald Town, Central City, anywhere they can, behind our backs. And that's low, even for them! I'm not much of a follower, but I'll probably do what Vector did and keep a look out for Metal Sonic or whoever decides to show up, but then again, in case of an attack, I could tap into an emerald's power for a bit. Only a handful of us can do this, so..."

"Let's talk about the groups for a while," Tails suggested. "But we'll need to be quick."

Everyone spent a few minutes deciding who would look for the emeralds and who would stay back.

Recently, Shadow's fake emerald was upgraded to have a tracking device for the real emeralds. That, and the black hedgehog's Chaos powers, made him the perfect candidate for helping to get the Chaos Emeralds. He accepted this role without question. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Silver and Blaze were to join Shadow. As for Amy, Cream, Rouge, Omega and Team Chaotix, they would stay behind and defend.

"These look like pretty good teams," Blaze commented.

"Yeah, we've got some pretty good fighters on our side and so do they," Silver added.

"Hmm... They could be better, but they could be worse," Shadow said. "But we better move quickly."

"Yeah," Sonic said. Then, he turned to those staying behind. "As soon as we've got all the emeralds, we'll trash Gemerl and the others, but-"

"No!" everyone heard a little girl shout. They all turned to Cream.

"Cream, I know he's our friend and all, but we've probably got no choice," Knuckles told her. "Besides, Rouge has been doing some spying lately and she told me that she heard Gemerl got turned bad again. What more can we do?"

"I... I think you're wrong, Knuckles" Cream said softly. "I believe Gemerl has some good in his heart and he still remembers us all as friends. You can't do this to him. You just can't!"

After Cream said this, she broke down into tears at the thought of her robot brother figure being destroyed again. It happened once as Emerl back on Earth and it happened again when he was reincarnated as Gemerl. No one forgot that Gemerl was a friend to them all, but some knew what had to be done. Tails walked up to her and pulled her into a hug.

"I... know what it's like to lose someone so special to you," he whispered to her.

"You still think of... Cosmo?"

"Yeah, but not because I long for her to be back. I knew that she didn't sacrifice herself for sadness. I got over the fact that nothing else could be done that day two years ago and, for everyone's sake, including mine, I moved on. I knew that was what Cosmo would have wanted. Cream, let me ask you something. What would Gemerl want? Would he want you to let this tyrant we hear of him become today rampage through this world? Or would you stop him in any way, even if it means destroying him?"

After hearing all of this, Cream pulled herself away from Tails and rubbed her eyes dry. She took a moment to think about what the fox just said to him and made her decision.

"Tails, you're right," she smiled. "After we have all the Chaos Emeralds, if Sonic and the others would let me, may I please talk with Gemerl?"

"Sure," Tails smiled back.

"Thank you for being so understanding with me, Tails," Cream said softly. "This is why... This is why I love you."

"Heh heh. We'll always be together.. right?"

The two leaned close to each other and kissed, only to get an 'Eww!' from Charmy, having Vector tell him to be quiet.

"If Gemerl's still 'good', he'll come back," Shadow told Cream. "Otherwise, we'll have to fight."

"I know," Cream said, nodding. "Now, you six have some Chaos Emerald gathering to do. Please be quick, for him."

"Will do!" Sonic grinned, before he and the five others started to head out. Then, Amy called his name.

"Be careful out there," she told him.

"Heh. No worries!" Sonic smirked, winking at his girlfriend. "For you and for everyone, we'll win, like always!"

After a meaningful little talk between Knuckles and Rouge, the two groups split up.

* * *

**Meanwhile, On Top of Emerald Hill, Just Out Of Emerald Town...**

Little did the twelve heroes who gathered know, Gemerl was standing on top of Emerald Hill, listening in on the talk Tails and Cream just had. He felt something warm inside.

"What is this I feel?" he asked himself. "And why do I feel it now? Could it be...?"

Suddenly, Gemerl felt a shock course through his body. Falling to his knees, in pain, the warm feeling disappeared.

"What am I doing here?" he wondered. "I should be preparing to attack them. I should get going."

While he set out to gather the troops, his reprogrammer, Eggman Nega, watched in frustration.

"Looks like there was a flaw in my reprogramming after all," he murmured, holding a black remote with one yellow button. "It's a good thing I always bring this with me, or else our plans may have had to be altered."

Realizing that it wasn't in his character to spy, Eggman Nega hopped on his own version of the Eggmobile and returned to the Egg Carrier.

* * *

Well, that was quite a chapter today! Hope you all enjoyed! Tune in next time for the hunt for the Chaos Emeralds!

~Have a great day, week, fortnight, month, whatever~


	4. The Plan For Action

**I own no Sonic characters. Credits to Sega.**

* * *

This is a sequel to 'Metal Sonic's Rebellion'. To entertain yourselves or get the backstory to this fic, check it out first.

If you've just come from this chapter, please read from the beginning to avoid any confusion.

* * *

Reply to TheBlueAlienRobotZombie's review of Chapter 3: You sure love Taiream, don't you? Well, I do, too. It definitely could work out between them , but the pairings rant will be for another time.

What did you want to know about Gemerl? If he was someone else, or something else? If you're afraid you'll spoil something, just PM me your question.

* * *

What else can I say? Planning time and drama time!

* * *

**On Top Of Emerald Hill...**

Sonic and the others decided that Emerald Hill would be a good meeting point, in case anything happened. Emerald Hill loomed over Emerald Town, so it make a great vantage point, too. The team would need it, knowing that someone like Metal Sonic could attack at any moment. As the team of six stood on the hill, Tails looked at his own Emerald Tracker.

The gray device's radar screen had seven dots scattered around it. The genius noticed, however, that three of those dots were in one spot to the team's south. On the other hand, two more of the dots pointed all the way to the west. A lone dot stood out at the right of the screen, indicating that a Chaos Emerald was due east. The final spot appeared at the top, meaning another Chaos Emerald was due north.

"I was tricked to bury the emeralds in some pretty far off places from each other," Tails sighed. "And Gemerl got away with one of them."

"So, where should we head off?" Knuckles asked. "West? North? South? North south?"

"There's no such direction as 'north south', you idiot," Shadow groaned.

"There isn't?" Knuckles responded, baffled. "Damn, I've been told there was..." To this, Silver and Sonic muffled laughs. Knuckles growled at them.

"Anyway..." Blaze spoke up. "Where to, Tails?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. To the south are three Chaos Emeralds, and to the west, two," Tails explained. "This leaves the other two split up east, which is past Central City, and north. At first, I was considering taking the five west and south before our enemies do. They must be able to sense the combined energies of two or even three Chaos Emeralds more than one alone, so I was sure they would go for them."

"What's stopping us?" Silver asked.

"They must think that we know that," the fox answered. "So they might go for either of the lone emeralds, making it so they'll still have a chance with two, even though we may have five."

"But if we have those two, our enemies might take those five," Shadow growled. "We can't let them take the lead for any reason!"

"I know, but that's what's making it so hard to decide," Tails frowned. "Whichever way we go, those guys could take an emerald anyway. Sigh..." Then, he had an idea, turning his frown upside down. "Wait, I've got it!"

"What?" the other five asked.

"I think I know someone that lives to the west of here, in a jungle."

"Hmm... a rather obese someone who wants to do nothing but fish?" Knuckles suggested, everyone else remembering who was being talked about. "I told him to guard the Master Emerald for me, but even when we were fighting Metal and Mecha Sonic, he wasn't there! Could it be that he left behind my back? Stupid cat..."

"Knowing him, he probably got his fat ass kicked by those fakers," Shadow said jokingly, Knuckles and Sonic letting out a long laugh. Silver resisted the urge to.

"Ahem!" Blaze cleared her throat loudly, grasping their attention. The feline turned to Tails. "So, what should we do about your little friend?"

"Fat friend!" Knuckles coughed.

"If he's found them, one of us should visit him and ask him to give them to us."

"I'll do it," Blaze volunteered herself. "I'm the only other one sensible enough to even say hello to him and we've only met once!"

"I didn't laugh!" Silver whined. "And I met him, too!"

"But you were going to, Silver," Blaze reminded him.

"Darn it, you got me there. What should I do, Tails?"

Tails stared at the radar and began to think. With Blaze out to collect two of them, that left the other five of the team to get the remaining five emeralds, one of them being in possession of the enemy. However, the thought of being attacked in any place at any moment worried him.

"Silver, you'll go with Blaze."

"Cool. Should we get going?"

"The sooner, the better," Tails said. With that, the two headed off.

However, this left only four team members to gather a higher amount of emeralds.

"I know that also to the north is Angel Island," Knuckles spoke up. "That's where the Master Emerald is. If a Chaos Emerald is to the north, it's the closest to the Master Emerald and that can be perfect for those rustbuckets' plans." Gliding away for Angel Island, he added, "See, Shadow? I'm not so dumb!"

At first, the remaining three had doubts, but as dumb as Knuckles was, he knew the Master Emerald more than anyone else, so they let him go. Shadow said that he would get the emerald to the east and warped away with his fake emerald. Sonic and Tails knew of the tracking abilities Tails gave it, so they knew it was a good shot.

"Well, buddy," Sonic said. "I guess we're headed south to Emerald Coast. Then, away at sea we go! Then-"

"Wait a minute, Sonic," Tails interrupted him. "I just remembered... The Egg Carrier's all the way over there!"

"So? We can get those three emeralds back from Egghead, remember?"

"Oh yeah..."

* * *

**In Central City...**

A green flash of light appeared in the middle of Central City and from it stepped Shadow. He remembered that 'to the east' meant the desert past the city, so he headed there. However, what he found were fields of fire. Nature was set ablaze and civilization was burning down. Looking for the source of the chaos, Shadow encounter Rouge, Espio and Omega, on the ground, and everyone else gathered around them.

"Hey! What the hell happened here!" the black hedgehog demanded to know as he helped everyone else lift the three up.

""We... We were attacked," Rouge breathed. "By Gemer!"

"What!"

"I'm... sorry... I have... failed you, my friend," Espio barely said, in pain. "I'm too weak."

"POWER LEVEL... TOO HIGH," Omega grimaced. "TAKE EVASIVE ACTION, SHADOW."

"Grr... When I find him, I'll-

"ENEMY APPROACHING! **EVADE IMMEDIATELY**!"

But it was too late, Shadow took an energy ball to the back and keeled over in pain. On the blazing ground, his eyes were laid on a silhouette of a hedgehog. Shadow looked up and saw that his eyes were red.

"Shadow the Hedgehog," he said. "Out of everyone here, I thought you would be more understanding of me." The enemy had taken the form of Sonic, but everyone knew better.

"You think you can fool me, Gemerl?" Shadow snapped. "You're the one who should know better!"

"But I indeed do," Gemerl claimed. "I have seen the light. Dr Eggman Nega has brought back to reality. My 'upgrade' confirmed some things for me. That trust brings betrayal. That friends being weakness! Those are the elements Eggman and Eggman Nega will erase from Mobius in their new world order!"

"Fool..." Shadow spat. "They've got you thinking the wrong ideas!" From the corner of his eye, he caught Cream running up to Gemerl.

"Please, Gemerl! Stop this!" she pleaded. "I, no, we know that you're better than this!"

"Hmph. Cream the Rabbit, I presume. You're the biggest fool of them all! To think that everyone has some good in their hearts! Impossible! Now, you're just a hindrance to the new world's masters. Begone."

At once, Gemerl stretched his hand in front of Cream's face, gathering up a dark energy. In anger and shock, Amy unleashed the might of her hammer at the cyborg. He felt nothing, but only turned to the attacker.

"Hah! You think that thing will stop me?" Gemerl cackled, snatching the hammer with his free hand and crushing it like a twig. Amy was in devastation.

Gemerl turned back to Cream and charged more energy in his dark energy ball. However, Cream stared back. She was determined to bring Gemerl back, even if it meant sacrificing herself. To this, Gemerl was intrigued. To think that such a little girl could stand up to his might! Suddenly, the robot's eyes showed calmness. He lowered his hand and the energy ball disappeared.

"Cream? And everyone?"

"Gemerl... Are you really back?"

"What do you mean? Was I gone?"

While most of the friends laughed away, Gemerl felt a pain course through his metallic body, little did he know it to be the work of Eggman Nega, who was insisted to check up on Gemerl again by Eggman.

"You'll thank me for this later," he mumbled as he flew away to the Egg Carrier once again.

Gemerl keeled over, to which everyone felt concern. In time, the robot's eyes were filled with evil once again.

"And to think you were able to trick us!" Cream cried. "You lied to me! You're not Gemerl!"

In a surprising rage, the rabbit rushed at her friend to attack. However, with a flick of Gemerl's fist, Cream was sent flying away. Everyone else glared at him.

"Cream's right!" Amy yelled. "The Gemerl we all knew wouldn't stoop so low as to attack someone so young!"

"So, would you like to be next?"

"No. Your fight is with me," Shadow spoke up. Turning to everyone else, he told them to get away. They had doubts, but they understood what needed to be done.

The Ultimate Life Form turned back to Gemerl and smirked, "You may not be the same character wise, but do you retain your battle prowess?"

"You'll find that after this is over, you'll be relinquishing your title of 'Ultimate Life Form' to me."

"Hah! We'll just see about that."

"Prepare yourself!"

With plasma energy concentrated in his hand, Gemerl clenched his fist and rushed at Shadow. Using the power of the fake emerald, Shadow created a ball of Chaos energy in his hand, clenched his fist and rushed at Gemerl.

And so, the battle began.

* * *

I was thinking of cutting to some of the others guys collecting the emeralds in the next chapter, but since you're all disappointed with where I ended the chapter, I decided to show the fight in the next scene, so be on the lookout for that!

~Have a great day, week, fortnight, month, whatever~


	5. The Battle And The Hunt Begin!

**I own no Sonic characters. Credits to Sega.**

* * *

This is a sequel to 'Metal Sonic's Rebellion'. To entertain yourselves or get the backstory to this fic, check it out first.

If you've just come from this chapter, please read from the beginning to avoid any confusion.

* * *

Reply to TheBlueAlienRobotZombie's review of Chapter 4: Well, you've been looking forward to today's fight, like I'm sure most of my fellow viewers are, and here, you'll get it!

* * *

What else can I say here? Shadow gets himself in serious trouble in this episode/chapter!

* * *

The two fists crashed against each other with a bright flash. When it faded, Shadow and Gemerl seemed to have lost their energy charges. Gemerl rushed forward with a punch, but Shadow ducked down and knocked him away with a high spin kick, following up with a Homing Attack. Gemerl blocked it and threw his opponent onto the ground, the force of the throw propelling him in the air. From the air, Gemerl raised his hands in the air, gathering some plasma energy. With blinding blue energy balls in his hands, he threw his arms forward, one after the other, at a rapid rate, and fired many shots at the grounded hedgehog. When the energy was used up, the robot somersaulted in the air and came crashing down at Shadow fist first like a meteor. He released an explosion on contact with the ground, destroying more of the once industrial Central City.

However, when he got up from the ground, he couldn't find Shadow anywhere. Gemerl did, however, take a Chaos Spear to the back, stunning him momentarily. He struggled to turn back, but he was barraged by lightning speed Homing Attacks, multi hitting spin kicks and power packed punches. Shadow gripped Gemerl's neck and slammed him down on the ground. While the opponent tried to recover from the combo he was taken down with, he smirked.

"I guess Nega took away some of your power, Gemerl. Not as strong or as fast as I had remembered you to be." He walked away, stating that he needed to retrieve a Chaos Emerald.

"Chaos Control..." Gemerl muttered to himself. "So, that's how he managed to get me." He shouted at Shadow, "Your own tricks will be the end of you! Chaos Control!"

He warped away in a blue light. Shadow, intrigued by Gemerl's new found ability, prepared for the attack. In the same blue light as before, Gemerl reappeared behind Shadow's back and blasted him away with some more plasma charged energy shots.

"Hah! They say lightning strikes twice!" he began to mock Shadow. "Doesn't feel too good to be on the receiving end, does it?"

"Heh. So you can use Chaos Control, too..." Shadow grunted.

"Yes. Like you, I have the powers of a replica of a Chaos Emerald."

"Like me...? Hah. So you remember..."

"That's what makes you one of the biggest threats to my masters," Gemerl told Shadow. "Your Chaos powers. Now, though, I'm afraid you'll have to be disposed of."

"Go ahead and try!"

The two fighters dashed at each other, punches crashing with each other, kicks being blocked and balls of energy being thrown. Not wanting to put any innocents in danger, Shadow took off for the desert, Gemerl chasing him in hot pursuit. Meanwhile, Shadow summoned and volleyed a barrage of Chaos Spears, which exploded on contact with a midnight blue forcefield Gemerl conjured up. The Ultimate Life Form used his Chaos Control to warp into the sky, then curled into a ball and rocketed down, his black fur blinking red. Gemerl let out a laugh and fired a green laser at Shadow, only to have it pierced through by the ball like Shadow. He looked as if he was an actual meteor crashing down. Gemerl growled and prepared to hold Shadow in his position. Shadow smashed an open hand on Gemerl's neck and grasped it as he dragged it down to the barren ground.

"Chaos... BLAST!"

With a loud boom, a blood red explosion engulfed all in its vicinity, tinting everyone around it with red. As the Chaos Blast began to fade away, Shadow couldn't seem to find Gemerl anywhere.

"Damn it..." he panted in exhaustion. "I used too much power..." He took a look at his fake emerald, which was now gray and lifeless. "Still can't hold enough energy for me, can you?" he muttered in frustration. "I can't stand waiting for this thing to charge. I'll need to send it to Tails later."

"Because using a real Chaos Emerald would be dangerous, wouldn't it!" Shadow heard a voice cackle. The hedgehog was able to turn around. Gemerl was right behind him, holding a real Chaos Emerald in his hand!

"Just... Just who are you!"

"I'm the Ultimate Life Form now!"

Gemerl stepped in front of Shadow, stretched his free hand out and charged a white energy around it. He was about to release it as a great, powerful energy blast, but he was knocked away by a mysterious force, dropping the Chaos Emerald next to Shadow. The black hedgehog turned to Gemerl, blasted away to a nearby rock. He didn't see who had done that, but began to take his chance to escape with the Chaos Emerald.

"ESCAPE IS FUTILE, SHADOW!"

Suddenly, he was hit! On the ground and in pain, Shadow glared into the sky to see two figures. One was a familiar face. The other was new to him. Gemerl recovered from his injuries and returned to the scene.

"Ah, Mecha Sonic. You finally decided to show up," Gemerl said. "And I see you've brought someone with you, too."

"QUIET!" Mecha Sonic snapped. "SHADOW IS MY ENEMY. STAY OUT OF THE WAY AND I'LL FINISH YOU LATER."

"Come, Gemerl," the floating doll said to him eerily. "We have much to discuss."

"Who are you!" Gemerl demanded to know. "And why do you know me!"

"Your friend Mecha Sonic has taken the liberty of introducing you to me. Now, then..."

Pointing the red gem on its head at Gemerl, Tails Doll warped him and himself away to the Scrapping Room of the Egg Carrier.

"What was that guy talking about?" Shadow demanded to know from Mecha Sonic.

"MY TRUE PURPOSE TO THE DOCTORS HAS BEEN REALIZED: SCRAP PARTS FOR AN OLDER MODEL! BUT AT LEAST I WAS GIVEN A PURPOSE, UNLIKE MY PARTNER, TAILS DOLL, WHO WAS LEFT TO ROT IN THE SCRAPPING ROOM."

"Tails Doll? I've heard of him," Shadow mused.

"WE WERE BOTH ENRAGED AND REALIZED THAT IF WE COULDN'T BE OF USE TO DR EGGMAN, TOGETHER, TAILS DOLL AND I SHOULD DESTROY THE WORLD HE SEEKS TO RULE! WE NEED TO SEVEN CHAOS EMERALDS AND YOU, SHADOW, HAVE FOUND ONE. RELINQUISH IT AND YOU WILL LIVE."

"And if I say no?"

"YOU HAVE LIVED LONG ENOUGH SINCE OUR BATTLE THE PREVIOUS DAY. GIVE ME THE CHAOS EMERALD OR DIE."

"You're not getting it," Shadow growled. "We have enough to deal with, but if you want this to be a three way war for the Chaos Emeralds, so be it!"

"IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE," Mecha Sonic responded. "YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS CAN JUST GIVE UP. WE MAY SPARE AT LEAST ONE OF YOU."

"My answer's still no..."

"IF THAT'S YOUR DECISION... THEN YOU WILL DIE HERE!"

Shadow quickly used the Chaos Emerald to heal himself of his wounds. Then, tossing it aside, he rushed at Mecha Sonic, who was coming for him.

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

After making their way down Emerald Hill and traveling on flat ground westward, Silver and Blaze found themselves at the entrance to the jungle, as Tails predicted. Entering, they found themselves in a maze of trees.

"This shouldn't be hard," Blaze said. "Silver, hold me up."

"Okay, then," Silver said, unsure. "But I'm telling you, it's awkward for a guy to hold a girl up like-"

"I didn't mean 'grab me'!" Blaze snapped, embarrassed at her best friend's remark. "I meant 'use your psychic powers and guide me up'!"

"Oh. Sorry about that."

"Honestly, Silver..." Blaze muttered as she was floating upwards. She looked around for the other friend's hut. To her left, she laid eyes on a tall, straw roof and assumed that the whole hut was as high as a tree. _Why does Big need such a tall hut to live in? It's just a hut and it's not like anyone's going to go there for a party._

After Blaze was lowered down to the ground, she and Silver made their way for Big's hut. Along the way, Silver looked like he had something on his mind. Blaze was concerned and asked if anything was wrong.

"If it's about the 'lifting me up' thing, then I'm sorry," she apologized. Silver was no longer lost in his thoughts and turned to her. "I should have said for you to use your powers, so-"

"No, it's not that," Silver interrupted her. "I was thinking of something else."

"Well, what were you thinking of just then?"

"Blaze, would you still be my friend even though I'm hiding something from you right now?"

"You've been hiding something from me?"

"Yeah, but I don't know whether I should tell you or not... It could cost us our friendship..."

Blaze placed her hand on her friend's shoulder and said to him, "You don't have to tell me if you don't feel comfortable about it now. When you're ready, let me know, okay?"

"Okay," Silver smiled. It was then that the two pairs of eyes met. They didn't turn away from each other just yet.

They snapped away from whatever thoughts they were thinking in those few seconds and finally turned away from each other, embarrassed.

"I guess I really have to apologize for that," Blaze admitted, her face still slightly red.

"Yeah. Me, too," Silver said.

Suddenly, the two heard a scream and a choking frog up ahead.

"Oh no! That must be Big!" Blaze told Silver. "Let's go!"

The two picked up the pace and arrived at the scene. They saw a blue robot choking a frog for something he swallowed. In all of this, a round, purple cat was screaming in horror, not being able to do anything about it.

"Big! Silver called him. The cat turned to the hedgehog and looked hopeful.

"Yay! My friends... uh..."

"Silver and Blaze, if you don't remember," Silver smiled.

"Oh yeah... Yay! My friends, Silver and Blaze, are here!"

"Hey!" Blaze shouted at the robot. "Stop choking Big's friend!"

At that moment, two gems popped out of Froggy's mouth. By Blaze's wish, the robot dropped the now useless frog. Big caught him before he landed on the ground. Froggy smiled as best as he could, signalling that he was okay.

"CHAOS EMERALDS CAPTURED," the robot stated. He then turned to Silver and Blaze. "YOU ARE IN THE WAY. MOVE ASIDE."

"So that's what you were choking Froggy for..." Silver growled. "What was the big idea, Metal Sonic!"

"THE BIG IDEA WAS TO HELP DR EGGMAN AND DR EGGMAN NEGA TAKE OVER THIS PLANET."

"Nega?" Baze gasped. "So, Rouge wasn't lying..."

"WHATEVER YOU'RE MUMBLING ABOUT WON'T HELP YOU NOW. MOVE ASIDE, OR I WILL FORCE YOU OUT OF THE WAY."

"Then we'll fight you!" Silver declared. "And get those emeralds, too!"

"FINE. I WILL MEET YOU AT THE EGG CARRIER. BE THERE..." Taking off on his rocket powered back, Metal Sonic escaped.

In a hurry, Silver and Blaze made their way out of the jungle, leaving Big in awe. When they were out and returned to the top of Emerald Hill, they began to think of a way to get to the Egg Carrier. Staring off at Emerald Coast, they knew that the Egg Carrier was off the sea. However, Blaze noticed something on the sea.

It was a boat. And there were a pair of friends on it. They seemed to turn around and notice her staring at them.

* * *

Well, that's this chapter completed. Hope you enjoyed. Stay tuned to find out the outcome of Shadow and Mecha Sonic's battle and the retrieval of the other Chaos Emeralds!

~Have a great day, week, fortnight, month, whatever~


	6. Beginning To Heat Up

**I own no Sonic characters. Credits to Sega.**

* * *

This is a sequel to 'Metal Sonic's Rebellion'. To entertain yourselves or get the backstory to this fic, check it out first.

If you've just come from this chapter, please read from the beginning to avoid any confusion.

* * *

Reply to TheBlueAlienRobotZombie's review of Chapter 5: Well, what can I say? I love keeping my viewers in suspense. It's what I do and who I am (okay, maybe not...). Though I didn't find that last one too adrenaline pumping because it should have be obvious who they were. It's over at Chapter 4.

* * *

Before I begin, I'd just like to point out how well I think my story's going. I still hope to please more people with it, though it seems that plenty of you guys/gals/others are. I know this and Metal Sonic's Rebellion aren't the best FanFiction duo in the world, but at least I know I'm pleasing some people. Thanks for reading my work so far. As a reward, here's the next chapter!

* * *

**With Knuckles...**

It didn't take too long for Knuckles to find the Chaos Emerald he agreed to get, for guarding the Master Emerald before he met Sonic meant that he could also sense Chaos energy. There were a few of Eggman's robots to take care (some of which raided his house!) but what was the worst that could happen?

The echidna dug up the emerald buried next to his house, realizing that this was what 'Sonic' and Tails were burying.

"Huh. And here I thought they were gonna play pranks on me," Knuckles chuckled to himself. "Gemerl sure didn't get any smarter. Why would he bury this near the home of the guardian of the gem which balances out its power?" He realized that he was only partly correct. _Well, I'm supposed to be, anyway. But a lot of stuff caught up and I just couldn't do it anymore. One thing's for sure, anyone and everyone would make a better replacement than Big! Where the hell did he go? Anyway..._

Grasping the Chaos Emerald firmer, he prayed to the spirits of his ancestral tribe for victory. The sacred stone shimmered as Knuckles muttered his words.

It was when he decided to head back that he heard a very loud and powerful explosion and sensed the energy of Shadow's Chaos Blast.

"Argh, not again..." he grumbled. "That guy really needs to take it easy. Well, better go help him out." He closed his eyes to sense where the power was coming from. "Past Central City," he concluded. "To some desert... Hmm..."

Knuckles took off for Central City, but not without having to plough through some more of Eggman's robots. He noticed, however, that some of them looked different. Instead of the usual orange theme, some of them had a black and gold theme to them. He figured out that they were some of Eggman Nega's goons, though they weren't much tougher.

After traveling ahead for a little while, he saw Sonic and Tails at Emerald Coast, pushing out a boat onto the sea and climbing on. The three of them conversed and Sonic and Tails asked if they could help Knuckles. They were assured that he could handle it and the two set sail.

Eventually, Knuckles arrived at Central City, which looked in pretty bad condition. Searching for the cause of it, he saw some of his friends near the entrance to the desert trying to put out the raging fires and helped them out.

"Did Shadow head this way?" Knuckles asked them.

"Yeah. Why?" Charmy responded.

"Just wanted to check up on him."

"Knuckles, you idiot. Don't!" Rouge warned him.

"Huh? Why not?" Knuckles asked, baffled.

"He's out there fighting and I don't want you to get hurt!"

_So that explains that attack, _Knuckles thought. He then said, "I need to do something to help! Look, I promise you we'll come back. 'Kay? Now, I'm gonna trust you with this Chaos Emerald and I will come back for it, okay?" He handed the emerald over to Rouge.

"Fine," she sighed in defeat. "But you better come back."

"And I will," Knuckles said before hugging his bat girlfriend. And with that, he took off.

Knuckles wasn't too familiar with the desert he was in, but he heard of how Tails, Shadow, Amy and Cream did there two weeks ago and how Tails made his move (kind of...). However, getting used to the layout wasn't the concern. The first thing he saw that was not sand, rocks or dead bushes was a charged up Chaos Spear clash with another large energy ball.

* * *

**Meanwhile, With Sonic And Tails...**

"Okay, Sonic. We're gonna need one of my boats to sail to where the emeralds are," Tails said as the two stood on top of Emerald Hill. "We'll also bring some scuba gear because two of them were dropped off at sea. The last one... I'm too ashamed to even bring it back up..."

"Hey, it wasn't your fault," Sonic told him. "Besides, Gemerl did a pretty fine job looking like me. He even got my voice and character right!"

"..."

"No one blames you, buddy. Just forgive and forget."

"... Okay. You're right. Thanks, Sonic." Tails wrapped his arms around his best friend, Sonic following suit. "Now, we better get going," the fox said after the two let go.

"Right."

Sonic and Tails made it back to their house and grabbed the scuba gear they needed and some other equipment. At the lab next door, Tails found his Whirlpool boat, midnight blue with a logo of Sonic and Tails posing cheesy hero poses next to each other on the back. It was Gemerl's idea back then and there were no problems (for the most part).

"Oh man," Tails sighed as a thought came to his mind.

"What is it?" Sonic asked him.

"We're gonna need to drag this thing to Emerald Coast."

"Uhh... How heavy is this thing?"

"Well... let's just say, a lot of pounds," Tails frowned.

"... Oh boy..."

At Emerald Coast, Sonic and Tails were exhausted! Yet they were still going! They heard a peculiar whooshing noise from up in the sky, but that wasn't the time to be worrying.

"Man!" Sonic grunted. "You gotta build a heliport or something for your vehicles! Since you're smart enough to build these things, that shouldn't be too hard, right!"

"Sorry, Sonic! Don't wanna take up space which could be used for fun!" Tails groaned.

"Don't tell me we're gonna have to do this every time!"

"Afraid so..."

"Damn it, Tails!"

The two friends stopped pushing when the Whirlpool was close to the sea. Rolling over on the sand and feeling like dying, they never felt so sapped of their energy all day. The good news was that they remembered to bring everything before forcing the heavy boat to the coast. Doing this, though, forced Sonic and Tails to take a LONG break.

While the two friends were sitting on the beach, Tails noticed something on his Emerald Tracker. The dot from the north was sliding downwards on the screen.

"Looks like Knuckles got back a Chaos Emerald," Tails told Sonic, showing him the radar.

"Huh. That was pretty quick."

"It wasn't really a good place to bury it," Tails admitted. "I don't know what Gemerl was thinking back then."

"He must not have gotten much smarter," Sonic suggested. "But if Knuckles has made progress, we better get moving!"

"Right."

The two hopped to their feet and mustered up enough strength to push the Whirlpool onto the sea. When they hopped on, they heard Knuckles calling them and saw him approach them.

"What are you doing with the boat?" he asked them.

"Gemerl thought it would be funny to drop two of the Chaos Emeralds in the sea," Sonic told him. "So we're getting them back."

Tails noticed a sense of desperation in Knuckles' eyes and asked him, "Knuckles, what's wrong?"

"I sensed a powerful Chaos Blast come from somewhere past Central City," the echidna answered.

"We heard something while we were pushing this beast of a boat out here. Shadow needs to learn to just chill out," Sonic sighed.

"Wait. You two pushed thing thing all the way here? Never mind. Anyway, I figured I should go help him out with whatever he's doing and make sure Rouge and the others are okay."

"Do you think we could help?" Tails suggested.

"You two have something more important to do," Knuckles told him. "Besides, I'll be fine."

"C'mon, Knuckles. Getting the emeralds is important, but we can't just sit there while our friends are out there!" Sonic said.

"I already told you I would be fine," Knuckles reassured Sonic. "You may be able to take on anything, but right now, it's my turn now."

After some thought, Sonic then responded, "Alright. I trust you. You go ahead and help out Shadow."

Knuckles began to take off, but Sonic stopped him.

"Come back alive," the hedgehog told him.

"Hah! Don't worry about it, guys!" Knuckles grinned, giving him a thumbs up before taking off again.

When he was out of sight, Sonic and Tails decided to set sail. The motor was started up and the Whirlpool took off. All throughout the journey, Tails kept his eyes on the Emerald Tracker, while Sonic looked around for something suspicious. After laying eyes on Emerald Hill, the blue hedgehog saw two figures standing on top of it, one of them staring out at them. He alerted Tails and the two of them turned to the ones standing on top of Emerald Hill. Tails took out his binoculars and knew who the two were.

"It's Silver and Blaze, Sonic!" he said to him. "And they don't look too happy."

"We better turn this thing around and see what's up," Sonic replied.

"Already on it."

After the boat returned to Emerald Coast, Tails turned the Whirlpool around so it faced the sea and make things easier in the long run. He and Sonic made their way through Emerald Town and up Emerald Hill, while Silver and Blaze traveled down.

"Hey, guys," they greeted them.

"Hey," Silver and Blaze said also.

"Did you guys get those two Chaos Emeralds?" Tails asked them.

"No..." Silver sighed, turning his head to Emerald Coast. "He took them."

"He?" Sonic spoke up. "Who?"

"Metal Sonic... That monster choked Big's friend, for he had swallowed two of the emeralds."

"That monster..." Sonic growled, clenching both his fists.

"Sonic, Metal Sonic told us to meet at the Egg Carrier, should we wish to get the emeralds," Blaze told them. "We must join you on your voyage!"

"And you will," Tails said. "But we'll need to move quickly! There's gonna be five Chaos Emeralds to the south now, three of which are at the Egg Carrier!"

The four made haste. Quickly, they climbed on board the Whirlpool and headed out for the Egg Carrier.

* * *

**At The Desert...**

Shadow and Mecha Sonic's punches crashed into one another and the two rushed at each other and quickly traded blows with each other. Mecha Sonic found an opening and went for the stomach, but Shadow blocked it and crashed his knee against the robot's head. Once he was sent flying, Shadow leaped into a rock, curled into a ball and bounced in the air. He rocketed down at him, but Mecha Sonic managed to grab him and hurl him down to the ground. Curling into a ball, he rocketed down on Shadow and smashed his feet at his body.

His eyes were red with rage. All Mecha Sonic would think of doing was take revenge. Shadow lived long enough since the last battle. This was chance to utterly crush him. Before he managed to charge a huge wave of energy, Shadow swiped his feet and swept Mecha Sonic off the ground. He swung a backhanded punch at the robot and barraged at him at lightning speed. Curling out of his ball in midair, he swung his hand back and lightning surrounded it, while Mecha Sonic's chest glowed red, the energy morphing into a ball.

Shadow threw a Chaos Spear at Mecha Sonic's energy ball, the two attacks releasing an explosion on contact. As Shadow descended to the ground, he noticed a red echidna at the scene. Mecha Sonic also noticed. Knuckles had a determined look on his face.

"HA HA HA! SO, YOU WISH TO DIE, ECHIDNA," Mecha Sonic taunted him. "ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS ASK!"

"You'll be the one dead when we're done with you!" Knuckles snapped back. "Right, Shadow?"

"Fool, stay out of this," Shadow growled. "You have no idea what you're up against!"

"I may not know, but I can't just stand there and watch! I need to do something to help!"

Shadow smirked.

"Fine, echidna, but just stay out of my way."

"I'll be done with him before you even get a shot!"

"YOU IMBECILES! SURELY YOU DON'T WISH YOU CAN BEAT ME, DESPITE THE ODDS!" Mecha Sonic claimed.

"We can and we will!" Knuckles roared.

"This is the end of the line, Mecha Sonic!" Shadow growled.

"IS IT THE END FOR ME? OR DO YOU MEAN THAT YOUR END HAS COME?"

Shadow and Knuckles stood their ground. There was no convincing them to back out.

"FINE. THIS BATTLE WILL BE YOUR FINAL BATTLE... BECAUSE I WILL OBLITERATE YOU WHERE YOU STAND!"

* * *

There you go, guys. As you can see, this story will really take a turn for many action related scenes and fight sequences. Anyway, thanks for reading. See you guys next chapter!

~Have a great day, week, fortnight, month, whatever~


	7. The Battles Rage On!

**I own no Sonic characters. Credits to Sega.**

* * *

This is a sequel to 'Metal Sonic's Rebellion'. To entertain yourselves or get the backstory to this fic, check it out first.

If you've just come from this chapter, please read from the beginning to avoid any confusion.

* * *

Man... I would have uploaded this earlier, but I just couldn't muster up any desire to do so. For some reason, I just switched off when I created the document. I tried again an hour later, but still, I couldn't bother, so I put this project aside for a bit. But here I am now, with a fresh mind, ready to type!

Grab your popcorn, slushies and fanboy/fangirl hats and foam fingers, for things get pretty intense from here on out.

* * *

**At Sea...**

It's been fifteen minutes since Sonic, Tails, Silver and Blaze set out and they've come quite a long way. Tails has kept his eye on the Emerald Tracker and steered the ship at the same time, while Sonic, Silver and Blaze have kept their eyes out for anything suspicious. Suddenly, the radar beeped. Tails noticed that two of the dots on the map were right in the middle, signaling two of the Chaos Emeralds were right below them.

"Alright, guys. Silver and I will go down and get them," Sonic said to Tails and Blaze. "Tails, if you see anything, dip your, uh, tails, down and spin them."

"Got it."

After Sonic and Silver suited up, they dived right into the ocean. It was vast and blue, but there were no other living creatures on sight. This raised the two hedgehogs' suspicions, but they knew that there were more important matters at hand. The two continued to lower themselves down to the seabed, to find schools of robotic like fish swarm them. They took care of them easily, though.

_Is Egghead following us again? _Sonic thought to himself. He nodded to Silver, indicating that they had to get moving.

Eventually, Silver and Sonic saw two shining objects gleam beneath the bed. They knew they were the Chaos Emeralds and managed to dig them up. However, as they began to rise to the surface, they heard a motor like sound from there. They picked up the pace. As they rose and rose, Sonic and Silver could hear the faint sounds of fire blasts, electric blasts and robotic voices. Their heads pooped up from the surface of the water. They couldn't believe that was going on!

"Woah! What's happening!" Sonic shouted.

"Eggman's forces are coming from all directions!" Tails yelled, firing his Energy Ball Cannon at the various little planes that came his way. It was a red cannon which was held. Configuring it with the buttons allowed it to fire off different types of shots. It was a handy weapon for Tails to bring with him and he did so in his voyage.

"They must be after the Chaos Emeralds!" Blaze interjected. "We have to do something!"

"If Baldy wants a fight, we'll give him one!" Sonic declared. "Ready, Silver?"

"Yeah! Let's go!"

Silver and Sonic glowed green and Silver guided the blue hedgehog upwards. At the sight of a wave of fighter planes, Sonic curled into a ball and kept spinning, gathering a blue energy. He dashed at one of the planes, pierced through it and hurled himself to the others, smashing the planes in sight. When he was done, he dashed back to and landed on the Whirlpool.

Suddenly, more waves of enemies entered the scene, some of which were taken care of easily by Blaze's fireballs and silver's psychic blasts. Meanwhile, Tails picked off with his Energy Ball Cannon some of the ground fighters that got through and Sonic launched his Homing Attack on several of them and occasionally performed the Light Speed Attack. Slowly but surely, the waves of enemies began to weaken in number. However, just when the four thought it would all be over, in came the big ship itself: the Egg Carrier. The Whirlpool was now shadowed by the looming figure of the ship.

"Ho ho ho ho ho! So, you've come!" an unfortunately familiar voice laughed.

"Eggman..." Sonic growled.

"So, you dare to stand in our way once again, Blaze and Silver," another voice stated.

"Eggman Nega..." Blaze snarled.

"You know, it would seem pretty rude of us to leave you four out here at sea," Eggman Nega said in an eerily polite manner.

"So we've decided to let you fools come to us," Eggman continued. "Unless, of course, you'd like us to take over this planet!"

"We'll take on your challenge any day, any time!" Sonic shouted. "Tails, steer us there!"

"But Sonic, what if-"

"Tails, this may be the only chance we get," Blaze told him. "If we let him go now, they might prepare bigger forces for us."

"... All right."

"Hah! You'll regret your decision!" Eggman taunted them as a ship docking bay was lowered and prepared for Sonic and the others.

As the Whirlpool was directed to the docking bay, Silver wondered aloud, "Could it be that Metal Sonic told them that we were coming?"

"Most likely so..." Blaze answered.

Tails listened in, then said to Sonic, "You don't think that thing we heard back then was Metal Sonic, do you?"

"Seems like he's itching to fight..." Sonic responded. "As you know, he's probably one of my greatest rivals. It wouldn't surprise me if he's gonna get back at me for two weeks ago..."

"There's just one thing I don't get," Tails mused. "Why did the fights then seem a lot easier than usual?"

"Hmm... Maybe the 'upgrade' Eggman gave him messed up in more ways than one..."

* * *

**Aboard The Egg Carrier...**

The Egg Carrier was a large ship for sea travel and air travel. As the main base of Dr Eggman, this ship took priority when repairs were in order. It was a vast ship of plenty of technology. Every time Sonic and friends entered this red carrier, they were greeted with a new sight, for the Egg Carrier regularly underwent upgrades and modifications.

After the Whirlpool was landed, Sonic and the others debated on whether to bring the two Chaos Emeralds with them or not, but they were interrupted by a well known robotic voice and turned around to see the robotic clone of Sonic.

"AH, MY GREATEST ADVERSARY HAS COME," Metal Sonic said, addressing Sonic. "THIS TIME, YOU WILL FALL, MY LOATHSOME COPY! BY THE ORDERS OF DOCTOR EGGMAN AND BY MY DESIRE FOR REVENGE AGAINST YOU!"

"Heh, this is why you'll never like me, the real deal!" Sonic grinned. "Always following orders. Always wanting to-"

"SILENCE, FOOL!" Metal Sonic knew that Silver and Blaze were present. He began to speak to them., flashing before them three Chaos Emeralds. "I TRUST THAT YOU TWO ARE HERE FOR THESE?"

Tails gasped at the sight of three, instead of two.

"SURPRISED, AREN'T YOU, FOX? THE LAST OF THE CHAOS EMERALDS YOU AND GEMERL BURIED WAS THE ONE HE TOOK AND BROUGHT HERE."

"Why are you here, anyway?" Blaze demanded to know.

"We're here for Eggman and Nega, not you! Get out of the way!" Silver almost yelled.

"Ah, but he's here on our behalf!" Eggman Nega spoke to the four them through the Commanding Chamber.

"You're probably wondering why we attacked you four in the first place," Mobius' Eggman said to them. "We understand that through Metal Sonic's innate tracking abilities, you have acquired two of the Chaos Emeralds."

"And your three makes a total of five," Tails said. "You brought us here to fight for the emeralds, didn't you?"

"Wait!" Silver interjected, making a realization. "Then where are the other two, to complete the set of seven?"

"Oh, they'll come to us," Eggman grinned evilly. "And after you four punks are out of the picture, we'll have all seven emeralds!."

"Mecha Sonic and Gemerl should be on their way with them," Eggman Nega told them.

"BUT, DOCTOR EGGMAN NEGA, RECENTLY, SENSORS HAVE INDICATED THAT MECHA SONIC HAS-"

"That's enough, Metal Sonic!" Eggman ordered. "Now, get those emeralds!"

"AS YOU WISH."

Metal Sonic began to power up and Sonic and the others prepared themselves for what was to come. But one question was on all four of their minds.

_What's keeping up Knuckles and Shadow behind?_

Little did they know, those two were locked in a battle of their own...

* * *

**Meanwhile, In The Desert...**

Mecha Sonic charged straight for Knuckles and Shadow. The three traded blows, but Knuckles was on the losing end. Mecha Sonic knocked the echidna out of the way and continued to barrage at Shadow. Knuckles leaped into the air and, after readying his fist, dived down at Mecha Sonic while spinning. Mecha Sonic caught one of Shadow's punches and threw the black hedgehog straight into Knuckles' attack, catching both of them off guard and following up by curling into a ball and slamming back and forth into the two.

While the three fighters were descending to the ground, Knuckles slammed his fists down at Mecha Sonic, who used Chaos Control to warp away and drove his elbow right at the echidna's back, knocking him down. Shadow had landed on the ground on his two feet and when he saw Knuckles, he caught him by the hand and let go, dropping him down with little impact. Not taking into out his partner's condition, he braced himself for Mecha Sonic's dive and the two crashed their fists against each other. Mecha Sonic used Chaos Control to warp back into the sky, while Shadow teleported himself on top of a rock.

While Knuckles was recovering from his injuries, he was astounded by the sheer power and speed of Shadow and Mecha Sonic's quickly traded blows. He witnessed Shadow gain the upper hand and knock Mecha Sonic straight to him. He took his chance to lower his fist and thrust it up at the robot in an uppercut. Knuckles followed up by leaping into the air in pursuit, grabbing Mecha Sonic and tossing him down to the sand.

As the echidna descended, little purple orbs swirled around him. They swirled faster and faster until Knuckles was surrounded in a red aura. On the ground, Shadow curled into a ball and span along the ground, gathering yellow streams of energy around him. Mecha Sonic turned to Knuckles, then Shadow. Pointing his hands at the two of them, he fired off several energy balls at them

. Knuckles and Shadow let loose with their Maximum Heat Knuckles Attack and Light Speed Attack, quickly maneuvering round the volleys of energy blasts. They didn't stop when they collided with Mecha Sonic and dashed after him in pursuit, knocking the robot to the other like a game of tennis. In the end, Knuckles swung his fist at Mecha Sonic in an uppercut, sending him into the sky. The two powered down, but Shadow's hand was surrounded with lightning. Swinging his hand out, he fired a Chaos Spear straight at Mecha Sonic. The explosion that followed and cleared away left no trace of the robot remaining.

"I see you haven't lost your touch, Shadow," Knuckles grinned.

"Hmph. I guess the same goes for you," Shadow grunted. "Now, let's just take the Chaos Emerald and we'll be on our way."

Shadow reached over for the Chaos Emerald and was about to grab it. But suddenly, an energy blast knocked him away, leaving Knuckles in shock. The echidna turned around to see Mecha Sonic behind him!

"YOU FOOLS REALLY THINK YOU'VE WON!" the robot cackled as he bent down to collect the emerald. "BUT I HAVE WASTED ENOUGH OF MY TIME WITH YOU. YOU MAY HAVE WON THE BATTLE, BUT I HAVE WON THE PRIZE. TIME FOR ME TO TAKE MY LEAVE."

"You won't get away with this!" Knuckles shouted, charging straight for Mecha Sonic. He warped behind the echidna and smashed him to ground before leaving him and Shadow in the desert.

* * *

And there you have it, guys, gals and others! In case you weren't keeping track, here are the results so far:

Eggman and Crew: 3 Chaos Emeralds (two near Big's place, plus one at the prologue of this story)

Sonic and Friends: 3 Chaos Emerald (the one Knuckles retrieved and entrusted with Rouge and the others, plus the two Sonic and Silver found in the sea)

Mecha Sonic and Tails Doll: 1 Chaos Emerald (the one Mecha Sonic just got in this chapter)

When it comes to Sonic fanfics, I haven't written any fight sequences since Metal Sonic's Rebellion. I hope that I haven't lost my touch, guys. If you have any tips on writing fight sequences, I welcome them. I'll also make them public in this fic, so it'll help everyone!

~Have a great day, week, fortnight, month, whatever~


	8. Cruelty And Malice

**I own no Sonic characters. Credits to Sega.**

* * *

This is a sequel to 'Metal Sonic's Rebellion'. To entertain yourselves or get the backstory to this fic, check it out first.

If you've just come from this chapter, please read from the beginning to avoid any confusion.

* * *

Reply to Cool Dude 12321's review of Chapter 7: I always have everything planned out and written. I just didn't feel up for typing up that chapter. I don't know why, but sometimes, I just lose any desire to type anything up, even though I have what I need in front of me. Also, it feels more natural for me to upload one chapter, then type up the next one. Doing things all at once isn't exactly my forte.

Anyway, I'm glad you like what you see.

Reply to TheBlueAlienRobotZombie's review of Chapter 7: I didn't say that people might begin to hate, but thanks! I hope more people take interest in my works because my goal is to please as many people as I can, whether they be regulars, newcomers or passersby. But as long as I know I'm pleasing at least one person, I'm on the right track.

* * *

Well, Shadow and Knuckles were left in a pretty bad position in the previous chapter. What will be the fallout of it? How will the fight with Metal Sonic go? And what's happening with Gemerl and Tails Doll? All these questions and more will be answered today!

* * *

**The Afternoon After the Battle With Mecha Sonic...**

It was black. Shadow could see nothing, but he could hear everything. He heard voices and knew whose they were, but didn't know where he was. He knew that Amy, Cream, Rouge, Omega, Espio, Charmy, Vector and even Knuckles were all present, albeit in a different room. their voices were loud enough so he could hear them. But where was Shadow? He groaned slightly as he forced his eyelids to open. In truth, he regained consciousness long before Knuckles did. He just needed some rest.

He took a look around. He was on a bed. He looked outside the window. For now, there was peace. The ruins of buildings outside made him realize that he was back in Central City. Upon further inspection of the room he laid in, Shadow groaned at the fact that he was a bit too old for stuffed animals and a bit too manly for the array of oranges, yellows and pinks. What Shadow didn't realize that there was a stuffed pig right beside him. When he turned around, he let out a little gasp at the sight of it and relentlessly tossed it outside the room.

"Damn pig..." he mumbled as he crossed his arms.

He heard someone cry, "Oh, Mr Oinkers! How did you get here?"

Shadow saw a rabbit skip to her room to place it back besides him. He knew it was Cream.

"Oh! You're awake!" she smiled. "Did Mr Oinkers disturb your rest?"

"Well, I didn't expect him to be there," Shadow said, but that wasn't what he wanted to talk about. "Whose place is this and how did I get here?"

"This is my room of my floor of the apartment," Cream answered cheerfully. At first, Shadow didn't know what she meant by 'apartment', but remembered that a while back, the girls decided to live in one building, so they got to work on building a pink three floor apartment. The botton floor was for Cream and her mother. The floor above was Amy's and the last one above that was Rouge's.

"And how did I get here?"

"Rouge and Omega went searching for you in that desert. They found you unconscious and brought you back to me and my mother."

"I see... After all, the last thing I remember before being here was returning to Central City."

"Vanilla said that the heat, combined with us being tired from fighting, must have knocked us out," Shadow heard Knuckles say. He saw the echidna enter the room, then everyone else followed suit.

"We heard that Mecha Sonic stole the emerald you found, Shadow!" Vector said. "Tough break, but don't take that from that guy!"

"This must be yours," Espio spoke up, handing over to Shadow his fake emerald. "Knuckles filled us in on your encounter. What course of action will you take?"

"I don't know..." Knuckles sighed. "It's like a three way war now. Who knows what will happen?"

"THE EGG CARRIER MUST BE ELIMINATED," Omega stated, to get glances from everyone. "A FULL FRONTAL ASSAULT FROM THE NINE OF US WILL ENSURE VICTORY. SENSORS HAVE PREVIOUSLY INDICATED SONIC, TAILS, SILVER AND BLAZE ON THEIR WAY THERE."

Everyone took a moment to think, until Rouge spoke up, "Yeah, I get why we should."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Charmy asked.

"If we destroy the Egg Carrier, then those robots will surely lose hope! It's simple, yet perfect!"

"But Sonic said for us to stay behind," Charmy said.

"We won't leave my Sonic like this!" Amy shouted. "He's probably out there, while we just sit in the background! We've gotta help somehow!"

"You're right, Amy," Knuckles said to her. "We have to do this, guys! Now, who's with me!"

Everyone cheered, signaling that everyone agreed with the attack on the Egg Carrier. Just then, Vanilla, Cream's mom, entered the scene.

"My, what's going on in here?" she chuckled softly.

"We're gonna help Sonic!" Vector declared.

"Oh my! That's wonderful! But won't you all get hurt?"

"Sometimes, we've all gotta make sacrifices," Vector said. "But don't you worry, Vanilla! Vector here will be here for you!"

With that, the nine of them left the apartment and discussed what they were going to do to attack. but they didn't have much time left, for Sonic, Tails, Silver and Blaze really were out there in a fight.

* * *

**At the Egg Carrier's Docking Bay...**

The sea was calm, but the Egg Carrier was not.

Sonic and Metal Sonic threw down their Chaos Emeralds. They began the battle by clashing against each other with flurries of punches. Metal Sonic sensed and dodged incoming attacks from Tails, Silver and Blaze. Eventually, he got the upper hand and slammed Sonic down to the ground. He lunged for Tails, but was frozen on the spot by Silver's telekinetic powers. Blaze took the chance and launched a volley of fireballs, only for them to be blocked by metal Sonic's own energy blasts. Slowly but surely, he broke free from Silver's grasp and kicked the white hedgehog into the sky. Metal Sonic leaped for him in pursuit, but was smashed back to the ground by a pair of tails. Then, he was hit with a plasma ball from the fox's Energy Ball Cannon. Sonic followed up with a series of Homing Attacks and knocked Metal Sonic to the other side of the Docking Bay.

Over on the other side, Metal Sonic slowly got up and said to Sonic, "I SEE YOU HAVEN'T BEEN SLACKING OFF."

"You've improved quite a bit, too," Sonic smirked. The two merely walked to each other, grabbing a Chaos Emerald each.

"What are you doing, Metal Sonic!" Eggman shouted. "Attack them now!"

"AS YOU WISH, DOCTOR. IT IS TIME TO GET SERIOUS, SONIC."

"Heh! Ready when you are!"

The two hedgehogs grasped their Chaos Emeralds firmly. Streams of bright blue energy gathered in their empty hands. Metal Sonic threw a group of energy waves, while Sonic released a group of cyclones. Tails, Silver and Blaze watched in awe at the energies clashing against each other and exploding on contact. When the smoke disappeared they saw Sonic and Metal Sonic up in the sky. They had used Chaos Control!

As the two fighters descended to the ground, they grinded against each other in ball forms. When they landed, they curled out and smashed their fists against each other's, then quickly traded blows. They ceased at the same time, but Sonic was ready first and Spin Dashed against his robot clone, smashing him against a wall.

As Metal Sonic recovered and dashed at Sonic again, an explosion was heard from inside the Egg Carrier. While the fighters ignored it, Eggman and Eggman Nega thought something was up.

"Strange," Eggman Nega noticed. "I will go and inspect it."

And so, he left the scene and searched around the Egg Carrier for the cause of the mysterious explosion.

* * *

**In The Egg Carrier's Scrapping Room...**

The darkness of the Scrapping Room was brightly illuminated by Tails Doll and Gemerl appearing from red lights. The lights dimmed and the two faced each other.

"I assume you are aware of this place," Tails Doll began.

"What of it?"

"This was my very rotting place, where my creator abandoned me and left me to rust. But let us get to the reason I have brought you here."

"Then speak," Gemerl said.

"And so I shall," Tails Doll responded. "Let me fill you in. Atop of the scrap metal and junk pieces you see before was where I began to hate. This hate grew into power and here I stand before you, desiring revenge."

"Revenge? For what reason?"

"This world is filled with pathetic creatures that desire power," Tails Doll started to explain. "My creator, Dr Robotnik, who I guess you know as Dr Eggman, left me. He left me for the fact that I was simply too weak. Anyway, all I could think of was revenge. Then, a robot came. A former partner of yours, I assume. He was Mecha Sonic."

Gemerl listened intently.

"He now seeks revenge. He has lived a lie this whole time. As you can guess, we have formed an alliance. With the seven Chaos Emeralds, we will destroy Mobius ourselves and in its place, we will build a new world. A world without fear of betrayal or lies."

"And I suppose I play a role in your plans?" Gemerl assumed. "Is this why you have brought me here?"

"You do play a role, a major one at that. I was thrown out for my weakness. Even with the lust for revenge fueling me with strength, it simply isn't enough. You see, I need a stronger body than the one you see before me. You, Gemerl, fir the role quite well."

"Hmph. It is your own fault that you failed," Gemerl stated. "So you shall carry out your plans yourself, while I fulfil the doctors' orders."

Tails Doll knew that Gemerl would answer in such a way. He knew that he would remain loyal to Eggman and Eggman Nega. However, instead of letting more rage consume him, he surpressed it and let out a chuckle.

"It is a shame that you are unwilling to cooperate, even after hearing my story," Tails Doll said eerily, his gem glowing purple, the irises in his eyes suddenly fading away. "I'm afraid I will have to take your body by force!"

He pointed his gem at Gemerl. The two bodies glowed purple. Gemerl struggled to resist the power resonating from Tails Doll, but he was frozen in place. He couldn't be! He had to get back to finish his orders! But Tails Doll's pull on the robot strengthened. This was going all according to the doll's plans. Slowly, the two bodies were pulled to each other, the violet glows blinking on and off, reappearing brighter and brighter each time. In time, Gemerl and Tails Doll's chests made contact with each other. A jet black explosion was let off and engulfed the entire Scrapping Room, leaving not even the doors to it remaining.

The figure that stood resembled Gemerl. However, he had a more menacing look in his eyes. They were completely red with rage. The third eye was instead simply a red gem and his yellow fins and horn took a more golden appearance and were streaked with blood red lines down the center.

"Gemerl! What are you doing!" a voice hissed. The voice belonged to Eggman Nega. The new robot turned to him. "What did you do to the Scrapping Room! There's no Chaos Emerald under there! Now-"

Suddenly, the Gemerl lookalike lunged for Eggman Nega's neck. He gripped it and held the doctor up tightly. Then, the robot began to take him somewhere, while Eggman Nega repeatedly commanded him to let him go. Eventually, the robot stopped at the Main Hall.

"Do you know what it's like to be thrown aside?" he suddenly asked Eggman Nega.

"What are you talking about?" he snarled. Then, he was thrown in the Main Hall. "What are you doing!" The Gemerl lookalike pressed some buttons and the doors shut and were locked. "Gemerl! Open up this instant!"

The robot just walked.

"My name is not Gemerl anymore... In the last moments of everyone's lives, they will scream my new name in fear: Malice."

* * *

So... Yeah! The whole gang will be together once again! Though it's gonna be kinda difficult to bring back Gemerl now! What will happen? Find out next time!

~Have a great day, week, fortnight, month, whatever~


	9. The Fall Of A Rival

**I own no Sonic characters. Credits to Sega.**

* * *

This is a sequel to 'Metal Sonic's Rebellion'. To entertain yourselves or get the backstory to this fic, check it out first.

If you've just come from this chapter, please read from the beginning to avoid any confusion.

* * *

Reply to TheBlueAlienRobotZombie's review of Chapter 8: If it's because of Malice, then you should be very afraid indeed.

* * *

It's been a while. At least, compared to how often I usually update. My computer's kinda screwing up on me, so I had to use my mother's laptop. Updates may become slower from here on out, but as soon as something is done, I'll be back full force! It's not like you guys have been complaining or anything, but I'd still like to say that I'm sorry.

Anyway, this story's reaching the high point, so get ready (damn, this is a lot shorter than the prequel)!

* * *

**At The Egg Carrier...**

Shadow, Knuckles, Rouge, Amy, Cream, Omega, Espio, Charmy, Vector. Little did they know it, these nine were in a race against time to catch up with Sonic, Tails, Silver and Blaze at the Egg Carrier. What they also didn't know was what those four were up against.

One of Tails' ships was borrowed and after a long time of tugging it out to shore, they climbed on, threw in anything they needed and set sail. With permission from the spirit residing in the Master Emerald, the gem was brought along, for its power would help with neutralizing the emeralds, should they go out of control. Its raw power would also be used for combat. The Chaos Emerald that Rouge was entrusted with was also taken, alongside Shadow's fake emerald, to ensure that Shadow's powers were to their fullest. Other assortments of weapons, used by Omega, were also taken for some raw power. In this and all other departments, the nine were set.

Surprisingly, the journey to the Egg Carrier was as calm as the sea being traveled on. There were, however, a few skirmishes with some of Eggman's sea and sky robots, but they were taken care of easily. Eventually, Shadow and the others arrived at the base itself, to see three blue figures standing strong, two of which were robotic clones of the third. They were Sonic, Metal Sonic and Mecha Sonic.

"What are you doing here!?" Sonic demanded from Mecha Sonic.

"I SENSED THAT THERE WERE CHAOS EMERALDS NEARBY," the robot responded. "BUT IT SEEMS THAT I HAVE STUMBLED UPON MORE OBSTACLES ON MY PATH OF REVENGE: YOU, YOU PESKY HEDGEHOG, AND METAL SONIC, WHO MY TRUE PURPOSE IS LINKED TO."

"YOU... YOU ARE NOT OF DOCTOR EGGMAN'S SERVICE, ARE YOU?" Metal Sonic assumed.

"THE TRUTH WAS REVEALED TO ME," Mecha Sonic answered, before beginning to tell the story of how he came to be in the position he was in.

"NOW, METAL SONIC. FACE ME," Mecha Sonic said afterwards. "WE SHALL SEE WHO THE SPARE PARTS WILL BE!"

"Hah! So now it's double trouble!" the real Sonic smirked, getting into a fighting position. "This world won't be taken or destroyed! Not if I have anything to do about it!"

It was then that Tails, Silver and Blaze volunteered to join the fight, as did Shadow and the other eight. Sonic grinned because to him, the party was just getting started. Meanwhile, Eggman was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, from the top of the Egg Carrier, a giant robot lunged for the Docking Bay. With a shield and spear on hand and thick armor and spikes on one shoulder, an infamous laugh sounded from the cockpit.

"Now, Metal Sonic! Let's destroy those pests and that traitor!"

"BY YOUR COMMAND, DOCTOR EGGMAN."

Sonic, Metal Sonic and Mecha Sonic charged at each other, when suddenly...

"I'm afraid you are in the way..."

Following a cackle, a red and yellow ball dashed straight at Metal Sonic! A gaping hole remained on his chest.

"FORGIVE ME... DOCTOR EGGMAN... I... HAVE... FAILED..."

"Metal Sonic? Metal Sonic!?" Eggman shouted from his cockpit. "Now's not the time for games, Metal Sonic! Why won't you fight!?"

"SYSTEM ERROR."

"What!? No!"

Metal Sonic blinked white. Again. And again. Electricity sparked in the hole that the mysterious figure left. Then, a huge energy blast crashed into him and a mighty explosion boomed, engulfing everything in its vicinity. Everyone else gasped on horror and shock at what they had just witnessed. The final defeat of Metal Sonic. But there was no time to mourn. After quickly taking everything, Chaos Control was used to warp away from the detonating area. The Docking Bay and Metal Sonic were destroyed. But where was refuge taken? On the giant main deck.

The main deck was sturdy, fit for outside testing battles. But what's normally used as a testing ground would become a war zone.

It was there that Sonic and the others reappeared, along with everything they brought. Eggman was already there. Apparently, he fled from the scene before Metal Sonic exploded. But where was Mecha Sonic? Everyone looked up. Mecha Sonic was there. And so was Gemerl! But wait. Was it Gemerl? He looked different. Everyone noticed that he had a more menacing appearance. He began to laugh evilly, along with Mecha Sonic.

"What are you doing, Gemerl!?" Eggman shouted. "You were supposed to be working with Metal Sonic, not against! I'm gonna have to-"

"Silence, fool."

"What!? How dare you speak to me like that!"

'Gemerl' curled into balls. Then, he charged right through Eggman's mecha. Before it exploded, Eggman ejected himself, but 'Gemerl' caught him right by the collar. They warped away.

"ALL SEVEN CHAOS EMERALDS ARE NEAR," Mecha Sonic stated, blinking white due to the power. "AND THE MASTER EMERALD IS PRESENT. YES! YOU FOOLS HAVE LED YOURSELVES TO YOUR DEATHS!"

A dark energy gathered in Mecha Sonic. As the seven Chaos Emeralds' glows intensified, he continued to repeatedly blink white and his eyes flashed. A flash of bright white blinded Sonic and the others and an explosion was heard. When all was clear again, everyone noticed that Mecha Sonic was not the same anymore. He used the emeralds to transform into his golden super state!

"YES... THIS POWER SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO WIPE OUT ALL OF YOU! IMAGINE THE FEAR YOU WOULD FEEL IF THE MASTER EMERALD'S POWER WAS USED, TOO!"

Knuckles knew what had to be done. He began to recite the sacred chant recited for the Master Emerald to keep the Chaos Emeralds under control. Too much negative energy was being used. However, Mecha Sonic noticed the mumbling echidna, teleported next to him and smashed him in the stomach, knocking him out!

"WORDS WON'T SAVE YOU NOW, ECHIDNA!" he cackled as everyone gasped in horror, especially Rouge. Mecha Sonic noticed her care and warped to her. "HA HA HA HA! YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE NEXT, WOULDN'T YOU?" A blast to the face and Rouge was left unconscious. Mecha Sonic noticed everyone's increasing anger and just laughed, "DO YOU FEEL ANGRY!?"

"Peace, Mecha Sonic," a voice called to him. 'Gemerl' was back and everyone turned to him. "We will dispose of them soon."

Cream, now full of tears, rushed up to him and wrapped him in her arms, sobbing, "Please don't do this, Gemerl! I know you're better than this! Please stop hurting everyone! Please-" A punch to the gut knocked Cream out of consciousness. This wasn't Gemerl at all!

"I have gotten rid of the name," he told everyone else, who were getting angrier by the second. "Now, for the last moments of your life, you will call me 'Malice'. How fitting, seeing that I intend to kill. But I do so because you have no idea how it feels to be thrown away. None of you know what it's like to be abandoned! Tossed aside!"

"What are you talking about!?" Sonic shouted. "We haven't abandoned you at all!"

"We would never do such a thing! Stop this now, Gemerl!" Tails pleaded. To this, Malice turned to him.

"You..." he growled. "The one my design was based off..."

"Wha...? Don't tell me you're not..."

"Hmph. You're getting there. I am actually Tails Doll!"

Everyone gasped in shock. Then, Malice proceeded to begin his story. He told everyone of how Eggman only created him as a last resort, explaining his weakness. He also told of his own abandonment and the effects it had and how insulted he felt that there were copies of him going about everywhere, some of which were under command of Metal Sonic and Mecha Sonic. The end of his tale was about his meeting and partnership with Mecha Sonic and meeting and 'fusion' with Gemerl, becoming Malice.

"So, you see, Mecha Sonic's and my goal now is to destroy this world and create a a new world. A new world without betrayal and lies."

"... It's true that we are to blame for your hate..." Sonic confessed.

"Then why do you stand in our way?"

"We are the ones that can fix it! And the way you're gonna liberate the world from negativity is wrong! And that's why I, no, we, have to stop you!"

Sonic's fists clenched and his green eyes changed to red. His quills spiked up, then back down repeatedly. He shut his eyes and his arms shook. The Chaos Emeralds and Sonic's whole body began to blink white. He began to float. Everyone knew what was happening next. A flash of white light engulfed everything. When it faded, a gold hedgehog floated.

* * *

This chapter was a bit shorter than the others, but I wanna set up for the big fights to come, so grab your popcorn, slushies and fanboy/fangirl hats and foam fingers for those! Thanks for reading and I'll see ya guys soon!

~Have a great day, week, fortnight, month, whatever~


	10. The Battle For Mobius

**I own no Sonic characters. Credits to Sega.**

* * *

This is a sequel to 'Metal Sonic's Rebellion'. To entertain yourselves or get the backstory to this fic, check it out first.

If you've just come from this chapter, please read from the beginning to avoid any confusion.

* * *

Reply to TheBlueAlienRobotZombie's review of Chapter 9: Next time? How about now? Here it is! But it's not just Sonic vs Malice. Oh, no! Did you think it would be a one on one fight?

* * *

From here on out, it's gonna be fight, fight, fight. Get pumped. Grab your popcorn, slushies and fanboy/fangirl hats and foam fingers and insert some awesome battle theme when the time comes.

* * *

Malice seemed amused at the transformation Sonic just underwent. Super Mecha Sonic, however, clenched his fist in anger. He remembered the battle on Angel Island and how he was beaten easily. He wanted revenge.

"Oh, yes. Super Sonic, if I recall," Malice mused. "But if you think you can defeat me and Mecha Sonic, you are naive indeed."

"But it won't be just Sonic!" Silver shouted.

"You go through us first," Shadow said.

"Guys... Okay. Get ready!" Sonic grinned.

Shadow and Silver clenched their fists and harnessed the power of the Chaos Emeralds. The seven gems blinked white as the two hedgehogs shut their eyes and floated above their they stood. Bright explosions blinded everyone in the vicinity and it faded, revealing a lemon yellow hedgehog and a golden white hedgehog. Now, there were three hedgehogs going up against Super Mecha Sonic and Malice: Super Sonic, Super Shadow and Super Silver. Sonic turned to Malice.

"I don't want to involve anyone other than us five," he told him. "So if you haven't lost anymore moral sense, let's fight somewhere else."

"Hmph. So be it," Malice answered. "Wherever you fight, it will become the graves of you three!"

With the support of their friends, Sonic, Shadow and Silver led Malice and Mecha Sonic to the battlefield of choice. As Silver was about to follow, Blaze called for him. He turned around and asked what was wrong.

"I..." Blaze didn't know how to put her thoughts into words. She turned her head down in slight embarrassment. "Never mind. Good luck, Silver."

"Uh..." Silver didn't know what to say. For some reason, he anticipated hearing something different. But the golden white hedgehog shrugged it off and smiled at Blaze. "Thanks. Sonic, Shadow and I can do this!" With that, Silver flew away to catch up with the others.

Down on the Egg Carrier's main deck, Tails and the others looked up the darkening sky in hope, Cream especially. She had hoped for Sonic, Shadow and Silver to defeat Malice without destroying the body. Tails noticed this and took her in his embrace.

"They'll do what they can," he reassured her with a warm smile. "I'm sure there's a little bit of Gemerl inside that guy."

"... Please be right, Tails... Please..." Cream felt some tears roll down her eyes and she sniffled as she spoke.

"Silver and the others can do it," Blaze said softly. "I know they can. Everyone else believes they can, so trust them, Cream."

Two groans were heard. Everyone turned around to see Knuckles and Rouge struggle to get up. They were helped up.

"Huh? Where's Sonic and the others?" Knuckles asked Tails.

"He, Shadow and Silver used the Chaos Emeralds to transform," the fox answered. "They didn't want to involve us in their fight, so they left to find a suitable location."

"Damn it," Knuckles growled. "Why can't that blue idiot trust us?"

"He's just doing what he thinks is right," Tails protested.

"But being in danger is exactly why we should help him!" Amy told Tails.

"Yeah, Tails," Knuckles said. "We need to go out there and fight with him!"

"We've done it before," Tails frowned. "But..."

* * *

**On An Deserted Island, South Of The Egg Carrier...**

There was virtually no life. Literally, all that stood was an extinct volcano, a few rocks and a palm tree. This deserted island was the perfect place for an uninterrupted battle. Five powerful fighters, Malice, Mecha Sonic, Sonic, Shadow and Silver, floated above the island.

"NO ONE WILL INTERRUPT US HERE," Mecha Sonic stated. "AND NONE OF YOUR FRIENDS WILL WITNESS YOUR DEATHS!"

"You'll be the one dying here, Mecha Sonic!" Shadow snapped. "I could have finished you back then two weeks ago, but now, you've lived long enough!"

"AND I SEE YOUR NEW FRIEND HAS FINALLY COME OUT OF HIDING." Mecha Sonic was addressing Silver as the 'new friend'. "TELL ME, SILVER THE HEDGEHOG. HAVE YOU OVERCOME YOUR COWARDICE?"

"Difficult circumstances stopped me and Blaze from helping the others!" Silver growled.

"In either case, you will all-" Malice began to say, when all of a sudden, he felt a sudden pain course through him. He slowly began to fall down to the ground and keel over in pain. Two different voices played in Malice's head.

_Argh! What am I doing!? I should be fulfilling Dr Eggman's wishes!_

_You fool! He has been using you! You will be scrapped someday! Scrapped, just like I have!_

_The new world has no use for the weak like you! I-_

Sparks flew around Malice, yet no one knew what was happening to him! Malice continually blinked white. Hid red eyes returned to normal, but his body was the same. He groaned in pain.

"Uhh... Sonic?"

"G... Gemerl?"

"WHAT IS THIS!?" Mecha Sonic demanded to know. "WHAT HAS HAPPENED HERE!?"

Sonic and Silver were in shock. Had Gemerl returned to normal? Shadow, however, had suspicions. As Sonic and Silver rushed to hug their friend, Shadow threw his hands against them, to their confusion. Shadow flew to 'Gemerl' and began to question him.

"What are you talking about, Shad?" 'Gemerl' asked. "I'm perfectly- Gaaaaaah!"

He then felt an severe pain flow through him. He pushed Shadow out of the way and keeled over again. Shocks were physically seen as another voice played in his head.

_I've had enough of you! All you seem to care about anymore is your friends! Your body is still required for my goal and I will destroy your soul if I have to!_

"Ah... Shadow... You were right in stopping them... Silver... Destroy me... Sonic... You have to do this... I'm being consumed... Before it's too late, de- Gaaaaaah!"

He couldn't think anymore. Dark energy was gathered in his body and one final scream from Gemerl was let out before the energy was released in an all powerful explosion, destroying the little life that the deserted island had to offer. What remained in the clearing smoke was Malice, with his blood red eyes pulsing with rage.

"Ahahaha! Your friend is gone now!" he cackled. "Sorry for the scare, Mecha Sonic, but I think now is the time to snuff out the flames that are their lives!"

"YES! THEY WILL KNOW TRUE PAIN!"

"Grr... It's time, guys!" Sonic told Shadow and Silver. "Time to put an end to this!"

Sonic dashed at Malice, while Shadow and Silver rushed at Mecha Sonic. Blows were traded at very high speeds and the rapid use of Chaos Control teleports illuminated the evening sky. Shadow gained the upper hand against Mecha Sonic and smashed his fist at his chest and Silver used his psychic powers to throw the Sonic clone straight at Malice, who threw his fist straight at Sonic before. Sonic recovered and fired blue cyclones of energy, Sonic Winds, at Mecha Sonic, then dashed straight for Malice with the Light Speed Attack and barraged at him. Mecha Sonic charged at Sonic, but his attacks were dodged and Shadow blasted him with a Chaos Spear.

Malice charged two plasma energy balls, joined them together with his hands and released the plasma ball at Sonic, but it was blocked by Silver's psychic blast. Malice, enraged, charged at Silver and rushed at him. Mecha Sonic curled into a ball and bounced off of Shadow and Sonic and smashed at Silver, curled out of his ball form and slammed his fists down at him like a hammer, knocking the golden white hedgehog down the ground.

"Silver!" Sonic shouted.

"Grr... Sonic, you get him up and running," Shadow told Sonic. "I'll handle these guys!"

"But you'll-"

"Go!"

Sonic dashed down to Silver to help him up, while Shadow rushed at Mecha Sonic and Malice with a Chaos Spear loaded up and ready. He fired it straight at Mecha Sonic's face and bounced back to Malice and spin kicked him, following up with a barrage of punches. Malice saw an opening and kicked him in the stomach, following up with a powerful energy wave, sending Shadow crashing at the extinct volcano. Mecha Sonic curled into a ball and dashed at Shadow, grinding him against the extinct volcano. After grabbing him by the neck, Mecha Sonic threw Shadow up into the sky. Then, his chest glowed purple. Aiming it at Shadow, he released a purple energy blast, which seemed to consume Shadow. Mecha Sonic laughed. However, in the moment he let his guard down, he was hit in the back and keeled over. He turned around to see Shadow, then get smashed in the stomach and away. Shadow searched around for Malice and saw him barraged by Sonic and Silver.

Silver blocked Malice's combo with a psychic shield, then countered with a force push. He and Sonic curled into balls and bounced back and forth at Malice like a game of ping pong. Silver formed teal energy balls and tossed them at Malice, having Shadow follow up with a Chaos Spear. The formerly black hedgehog grabbed Malice by the throat and threw him down, rushed to him in a ball and stomped on him on the ground. In ball forms, Silver and Sonic rushed at Mecha Sonic, who had recovered from Shadow's attacks, but were blocked by the robot's hands and were thrown down at Shadow. The three of them took some damage and were left open for a tag team combo from Malice and Mecha Sonic.

Mecha Sonic dashed down in ball form and bounced at Sonic, Shadow and Silver. Malice followed up with volleys of energy balls aimed at the three hedgehogs. Then, he dashed at Sonic and smashed him into Shadow, then dashed back to Sonic and pounded the former blue hedgehog into Silver. Mecha Sonic soared upwards, fists out, and punched through the hedgehogs. He somersaulted forwards once and fired many energy balls at them. The three hedgehogs took heavy damage, but if that wasn't enough, Malice appeared behind them. He swung his fist at Silver, Shadow and finally Sonic's backs, knocking them down to the ground.

Mecha Sonic floated down to Malice's level and looked down on the three hedgehogs, all of which were knocked out of their Super forms. He and Malice pointed their hands in the middle of them all and charged huge energy balls.

"NOW, TIME TO BE RID OF THESE PESKY HEDGEHOGS."

"Our revenge on this world is near."

Mecha Sonic and Malice were ready to release their finishing attacks on Sonic, Shadow and Silver. But suddenly, they were hit with energy blasts from behind them! The two robots frantically turned around. What they found was a bright yellow fox, a pale magenta echidna and a fiery red cat.

* * *

Well, what else can I say here? Some people have come to save the day and the battle with Mecha Sonic and Malice will continue next time!

~Have a great day, week, fortnight, month, whatever~


	11. The Beginning Of The End

**I own no Sonic characters. Credits to Sega.**

* * *

This is a sequel to 'Metal Sonic's Rebellion'. To entertain yourselves or get the backstory to this fic, check it out first.

If you've just come from this chapter, please read from the beginning to avoid any confusion.

* * *

Reply to TheBlueAlienRobotZombie's review of Chapter 10: The music could actually work for the encounter theme ('Pokemon Black and White: Gym Leader on the Ropes' sounds pretty cool). However, for the actual battle, well, I would use something else (maybe something along the lines of the Megaman X series soundtrack).

* * *

I think you can tell who the three that saved Sonic, Shadow and Silver were, but what you can't tell is whether numbers will match the powers of Mecha Sonic and Malice and whether our heroes will survive or not. Enjoy.

* * *

"Hm?" Malice took notice of the new powers the three figures before him had gained. "Well, I never expected you three to come."

"Did you really think we would leave our friends behind!?" the echidna grinned. Turning to the three hedgehogs, he asked them, "You guys okay?"

"I'm sorry, Sonic," Tails said to him. "But we couldn't leave you behind! We just couldn't!"

"Guys..." Sonic merely responded. "... Thanks. Now let's kick some mecha butt!?"

"Yeah!"

Tails flew to Sonic, while Knuckles went to Shadow and Blaze rushed to Silver. Each of them grasped their friends' hands and transferred some of their power to them. The three hedgehogs felt strength flow within them and their quills slowly rose and spiked up. Their fur slowly turned gold, but the changes continued to occur. Suddenly, Sonic, Shadow and Silver felt even more power flow. Feeling the urge to, they let go of their friends' hands, crossed their arms and threw them to their sides, releasing a blinding energy explosion. In time, the whiteness faded and the colors returned to normal, except for Sonic, Shadow and Silver. The colors of the rainbow quickly flashed on their fur. They all felt the power of their Hyper Forms flow within them once again.

"Sorry I have to do this," Sonic said to Malice. "But this is for Gemerl!"

"THIS TRICK AGAIN? DO YOU REALLY THINK I WILL BE OVERPOWERED BY THAT?" Mecha Sonic sneered, rushing at his original. "I WILL SHOW YOU THE ULTIMATE POWER!"

"You fool! Stop!" Malice shouted to him, dashing to drag him back, only to be stopped by Super Tails, Hyper Knuckles and Burning Blaze, dashing ahead of Shadow and Silver.

Mecha Sonic launched his fist at Sonic from behind, but it was caught by Shadow in an instant. In no time flat, he was sent crashing into the extinct volcano. Shadow rushed ahead and stomped on Mecha Sonic. The robot swung his leg at him, but missed completely and suddenly keeled over in pain. His hands supported him from falling on the solidified lava, but as he lifted his head up, Shadow was in front of him! Shadow grabbed him by the throat and held him up for a while. After tossing Mecha Sonic high in the night sky, he instantly warped behind him and hammered him down to the ground. Silver fired two huge psychic beams from his hands, both of which consumed Mecha Sonic.

As Mecha Sonic began to recover, Silver appeared in front of him and threw him upwards with his powers. Both he and Shadow continually smashed him about in blinding speed and Mecha Sonic just couldn't keep up. Shadow hammered him down to the ground again and the robot struggled to get up.

"WHY?" he cried in anger. "WHY CAN'T I KEEP UP!?" Shadow teleported to him.

"Now, are you ready to admit your foolishness?" he smirked.

"BUT... HA HA HA..." Mecha Sonic began to blink white. "EVEN IF I CAN'T BEAT YOU IN A FIGHT, I WON'T GO ALONE!"

"What are you talking about?" Silver questioned him. "Look at the situation you're in. It's impossible us to lose, right, Shadow?"

"Quiet," Shadow snapped. "Something's happening."

"YES," Mecha Sonic said, continually blinking white. "WHAT IS HAPPENING IS YOUR DEATHS!" A white energy sphere then surrounded him. "IF I GO DOWN, I'M TAKING YOU TWO WITH ME!"

Mecha Sonic suddenly disappeared. Silver and Shadow frantically turned around. looking for him. They felt cold hands grasp their throats and they were slammed down the ground, still held by Mecha Sonic. His eyes showed desperation and rage. Shadow and Silver thought he was crazy. They struggled to grab Mecha Sonic's arms and pull them off their necks, but they failed and began to weaken.

"YES... THE POWER I'VE ABSORBED SHOULD PROVE TO BE SUFFICIENT."

Meanwhile, Tails and Knuckles released a combined electric and fire ball at Malice, only to have it reflected it back at Sonic, who kicked it away. Sonic was about to perform the Light Speed Attack at Malice, but from the corner of his eye, he saw Shadow and Silver held down by Mecha Sonic, who, surprising to him, was blinking white.

"Oh no!" he shouted, dashing for Mecha Sonic. "Silver! Shadow!"

Blaze turned to see what was wrong and shrieked in fear. She was about to fly over to help Silver, but Sonic nudged her away, telling her to stay out of what he had to do.

"SAY GOODBYE, YOU PESKY HEDGEHOGS!" Mecha Sonic cackled, feeling a Hyper Sonic Wind blast at his back. Turning around, he saw his original. "YOU!"

"What do you think you're doing with my friends!?" Sonic shouted.

"THERE IS NO CHANCE OF VICTORY FOR ME... IF I GO DOWN TODAY, I'LL BE TAKING THEM WITH ME!"

"No way! You'll have to take me first!"

"THAT CAN BE ARRANGED!"

"You're mine!" Sonic yelled, rushing at Mecha Sonic, ready to swing his fist.

"No! Don't do it, Sonic!" Silver shouted, but it was too late. Mecha Sonic warped away from Sonic and appeared right behind the former blue hedgehog.

He smashed an open hand down at Sonic's neck and smashed him to the ground, gripping his neck.

"JUST REMEMBER THIS! I MAY HAVE LOST TODAY, BUT AT LEAST I'LL GO DOWN KNOWING THAT I'VE FINALLY KILLED YOU!"

"Ack... Gah..."

Silver and Shadow attempted to pull Mecha Sonic's arm off Sonic's neck, but Mecha Sonic swung his free fist at the two hedgehogs, knocking them away. Tails, Knuckles and Blaze helped them up, but taking a look at the scene, they screamed in fear. Malice merely stared curiously. Mecha Sonic charged his energy in the hand which held Sonic's neck. He was sure that he would go down in this final attack, but he didn't care. After all, if he was going to lose, he might as well take someone with him!

Attacks were launched by the other five heroes, but Mecha Sonic shrugged them off, focusing more energy into his own attack, not feeling a thing from any more of Blaze and Knuckles' fireballs, Tails' thunder balls, Silver's psychic blasts or even Shadow's Chaos based attacks. They did nothing! In fact, it seemed to make Mecha Sonic stronger! In time, Mecha Sonic's hand shook violently and then, his whole body.

"ANY LAST WORDS, MY COPY?"

"Heh... It seems that my time has come... Not with a whimper... But with a bang... Ironic for someone like me, huh?"

"HMPH. INDEED. NOW, PREPARE TO DIE."

Sonic's friends yelped in fear, but they continued to fire energy blasts. However, there was no use in trying. In no time flat, an intense bang pierced their ears as a gigantic energy explosion boomed, swallowing up everything in its vicinity, including Sonic and especially Mecha Sonic. This explosion could even be heard back at the Egg Carrier by the others, by those who feared for the events that occurred and the safety of Sonic and the others. Back on the deserted island, the explosion had eventually cleared away, leaving behind a gaping crater. Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Silver and Blaze kept their eyes and ears shut through the explosion and could finally let them open. Turning around, they were surprised to see Malice absent, but what was in front of them was what they really gasped at. Sonic's body lied still.

The five rushed at Sonic, now forced back into his normal form, not taking note of Mecha Sonic's final disappearance and tried everything to wake Sonic up, but there was no use. At least, that was what they thought, until Sonic's eyelids were slowly lifted and Sonic took raspy breaths.

"H-Hey, guys..."

"Sonic! What was the point of doing what you just did!?" Knuckles shouted at him. "You could have died out there! Whatever you were thinking was not worth risking your life, damn it!"

"Heh... Sorry about that..."

"Mecha Sonic may be gone," Shadow said. "But where did Malice go?"

"Don't tell me he was taken down in that explosion, too," Silver frowned.

"Probably not," Sonic chuckled. "So it looks like it's your turn, guys..."

"Sonic..." Blaze frowned.

"No... Sonic, you can't leave us like this!" Tails sobbed. "Not like this!"

Sonic could do nothing but shut his eyes again. Tails sobbed even louder, while the others felt various negative emotions. Sadness, rage, fear. Shadow looked up at the night sky in frustration and grief, when suddenly, he saw an energy ball head straight for them. He flew upwards and pierced it with a Chaos Spear. The other four turned up straight away to see Malice floating in the sky.

"Mecha Sonic may be gone, but now, it's my turn to wreak havoc!" he cackled evilly. "And then, this world will feel my wrath! Now that your pathetic hero's out, there's nothing you can do! Ahahahah-"

Malice was hit by an electric blast. It came from Tails. And he was mad!

"He was not pathetic..." the fox growled. "And it was your fault... If you and Mecha Sonic hadn't teamed up, Mecha Sonic wouldn't have blown up on Sonic like that!"

"Hmph. But was it all my fault?"

"Grr... You will pay..."

"Hah! Very well! Have at you!"

Everyone except Sonic and Tails flew up at Malice and began to attack. Down on the ground, Tails picked up Sonic and placed him in a safe place away from the battlefield, then rushing into the sky to help the others.

Malice bounced back and forth from the five heroes, knocking each and every one of them away with a powerful attack. As they began to recover, Malice rushed for Blaze and dashed through her fireballs, warping behind her and smashing her away. Knuckles hastily swung his fists at the robot, but the punches were blocked easily and Malice countered with a swift kick to the gut. He pointed a hand at the echidna's face, thrusting his opposite elbow at Tails, and fired an energy wave. Turning to Tails, Malice dashed for the fox and barraged at him, finishing his combo by curling into a ball and smashing into him in the ball form. Before he landed, Tails managed to grab the ball and toss him away. Silver and Shadow took advantage of this and Spin Dashed into Malice together. The two hedgehogs chased after him in pursuit and fired their respective energy blasts at him. Knuckles winded up and released an fiery uppercut at Malice. Blaze spun around, generating a fire tornado around her and knocked into the robot. Tails flew up and slammed his tails down at him, then fired a volley of thunder blasts. Even after all of that, Malice just managed to land on his two feet.

"Enough of this," he growled. "I'm through playing games."

He clenched his fists, which shook violently, crossed his arms and threw them to his sides, plasma energy surrounding his hands. Knuckles rushed at him, only to get blasted by a plasma energy wave. Malice rushed for the echidna and kicked him into Tails.

Meanwhile, down on the ground, a blue hedgehog struggled to wake up. He didn't know how he got to where he was, but that didn't matter. From the top corners of his eyes, he noticed a fight occurring. He saw his friends struggling out there!

_What am I doing!? I can't just lie here! Even though I'm in no condition to fight, I have to help!_

As Sonic struggled to get up, he heard the sound of bodies crashing to the ground. They were his friends! He had no time! he picked up speed and rushed to where they landed: next to the extinct volcano. There, he saw Malice, crossing his arms and laughing, though he ignored Sonic's presence.

"Well, well, well. This is the last stand of Mobius' heroes," he taunted the now wounded five. They noticed Sonic and gave sorrowful looks to the blue hedgehog. Malice had noticed this. "And I see you are still alive. My, my. Look at what your friends have done. They've doomed this planet."

"Urgh... No... No, we haven't," Tails managed to say with a smile. "Sonic's back... and he'll finish this..." Turning to Sonic, the fox told his best friend, "You can do it... You always do..." To this, one at a time, everyone else agreed.

Sonic accepted this responsibility. With hopeful looks on their faces, Tails and the others stretched their arms at Sonic. Slowly, he felt power flow into him. This, however, was his friends' power and it came at the cost of weakening them.

"What's this?" Malice demanded to know. "What's going on?"

Sonic stared at his palms. This power felt more amazing than the powers of his Hyper Form. He crossed his arms and his whole body began to shake. Sonic threw his hands to his sides and released all the energy with a powerful flash.

* * *

Oh boy. Will Sonic's new powers finally finish Malice? What will happen to Sonic's friends? Will Malice still overcome Sonic? Find out next time in the finale!

~Have a great day, week, fortnight, month, whatever~


	12. The Final Fight

**I own no Sonic characters. Credits to Sega.**

* * *

This is a sequel to 'Metal Sonic's Rebellion'. To entertain yourselves or get the backstory to this fic, check it out first.

If you've just come from this chapter, please read from the beginning to avoid any confusion.

* * *

The flash faded and the island returned to everyone's sight, though one flash of light remained, illuminating the dark island: a platinum white hedgehog, with eyes just as red as Super Sonic's or Hyper Sonic's. His quills were as spiked up as Hyper Sonic's, but this hedgehog's power was far greater. But this was still Sonic. As he hovered in the air, Sonic noticed that the five friends who gave him this power were on the ground, now in their normal forms. They gave everything they had. One by one, Sonic placed his hand on each of them and used Chaos Control to warp them back, back to the Egg Carrier, but not before whispering some final words to them.

"Silver... I'm glad you decided to stick around here... You were a great friend..."

"Blaze... You were like a sister to me... Good luck with whatever duties you have to take on..."

"Shadow... I don't know if I'll come back like you have, but you were an awesome guy... Sayonara..."

"Knuckles... You were sometimes a knucklehead, getting tricked over and over... But you'll always be old Knucklehead to me, whether I come back or not..."

The most important message was for Tails, Sonic's best friend.

"Tails... I may not come back from this last battle... So I'm counting on you to take down Eggman from now on... " Just as Sonic said this, he noticed Tails' eyelids rise slightly. "Take everyone home... And let them know that I'm always out there..."

"..." Tails forced a smile, for Sonic's sake. "I know you'll come back. You always do..."

"I fear for the worst this time," Sonic said to him, turning to Malice. "Neither he nor I may come back, so tell Cream... I'm sorry..."

For one last time, Sonic and Tails bumped each other's fists. Afterwards, he warped Tails out. Then, he faced Malice.

"So, I see you've said your final goodbyes," Malice guessed. "You know, it's all your fault, really. If you hadn't beaten me in such humiliating fashions over and over, this wouldn't have had to be..."

"You're the one to blame," Sonic snapped back, his eyes filled with determination. "Taking out your rage on the entire planet... That's low, even for one of Eggman's creations, Tails Doll..."

"..."

"And here you are, daring to take the body of my friend Gemerl! For his sake and everyone else's, I will stop you, here and now!"

"Even if it means destroying this body? The body of your precious Gemerl?"

"Gemerl would have never wanted his body being used this way!" Sonic shouted, clenching both fists.

"And Gemerl will never come back!" Malice cackled, crossing his arms and gathering energy. "He and Tails Doll... They're here. I am they. I am Malice!"

"..."

"Unfortunately for you, hedgehog!"

Malice released his energy, blowing everything in sight away, while Sonic shielded his eyes. He uncovered them when things were safe, to see another crater where Malice hovered, whose dark gray body was now jet black.

"I guess I have no choice then..." Sonic grimaced. "I have no choice, but to destroy you..."

"Try if you can," Malice taunted Sonic. "Have at you!"

Sonic immediately charged at Malice with a fist ready to thrust at him. Malice caught it easily and smashed his knee at Sonic's stomach, following up with swinging the hedgehog up in the sky. He curled in a ball and rocketed upwards to chase Sonic, who immediately recovered from the damage. Just as Malice was about to reach Sonic, he suddenly disappeared. Sonic knew this trick and turned behind him to see his opponent behind him. Malice threw his fist, but Sonic Spin Dashed him at lightning speed. He continued to grind against him in his ball form before quickly curling out and slamming the heel of his foot at the robot body. Sonic spread his right arm out and charged platinum and blue tinted energy in his right hand. He threw a Full Power Sonic Wind energy stream straight at Malice, who just managed to repel with a blood red energy shield. Still holding the sphere around him, Malice smashed into Sonic, dashed into him in pursuit and launched a series of uppercuts, forcing him higher in the sky.

Malice dashed upwards to continue to barrage at Sonic, but Sonic was able to backflip in the air to dodge the incoming fist. Quickly cupping his hands at his sides, he fired a bluish white energy blast, then warped behind Malice, who bumped into the hedgehog's back. Sonic thrust his elbow at Malice's head and barraged him with a flurry of punches, kicks and energy balls. There was no opening for Malice to exploit, but he caught up with Sonic's movements and manged to block what was coming. He then warped behind the hedgehog to hammer his fists at him, but he warped behind him and swung his own fist. Malice's own fist fist clashed with it, the force of the punches sending the two fighters spinning out away from each other.

In desperation, Malice rushed at Sonic, who swiftly countered with a Spin Dash. Curling out, the former blue hedgehog barraged at Malice, who traded blows with equal speed and power. The two briefly broke off. They fired a volley of energy balls, gradually propelling the two away from each other. They stopped. They dashed at each other and smashed their fists at each other, the force of the punches sending the two away from each other once again.

"I see this will take longer than anticipated..." Malice figured out.

"What can I say?" Sonic smirked slightly. "I die hard."

"But no matter how long it takes, I will reign victorious!"

Malice charged at Sonic once again, but Sonic warped upwards. The robot let out a laugh, for he expected that to happen. He warped up to behind where Sonic was and fired a wave of energy down at him. As Sonic was sent rocketing downwards, Malice warped back behind him and launched an uppercut at him again. While dashing at the hedgehog in pursuit, he charged an plasma energy ball with his right hand. With his left, he held Sonic by the neck. As Sonic gasped for breath, Malice released his energy ball at the hedgehog's chest, sending him flying higher in the sky.

As Sonic began to recover and prepare to block an incoming attack, he looked around to find the sky to be suddenly pitch black at the top half. Taking a brief look downwards, he found white clouds on a baby blue background. He was at the edge of space. Memories temporarily filled his head, but now wasn't the time. Malice was right in front of him! But then, he was gone! Sonic warped upwards and discovered Malice ready to swing his fist. The robot turned around to see the hedgehog dive down for his legs. Sonic swung Malice off his feet and began to spin around, gradually gaining speed. He would have appeared as a spinning top on the edge of space. In no time, Sonic opened up his hands and tossed Malice away in outer space.

Everything was a blur to Malice, well, at least the stars of space were. There was a planet every now and then, but that wasn't of importance to Malice. Where was he headed? At lightning speed, he crashed on a surface. After a second of recovery, he got up. Taking a look around, Malice realized that he was on Mobius' moon. Not that it mattered either, for he vowed to defeat Sonic, no matter where they were. He awaited the hedgehog to dash at him. The hedgehog did as Malice predicted and interrupted him with an energy ball.

Immediately, the two fighters rushed at each other and traded blows. After braking off, they clashed fists and were propelled away from each other. That was the last straw. Malice had enough. In anger and desperation, he dashed at Sonic, who immediately warped behind him. Malice swung his fist around, but that was avoided. The robot swung his fist again, but Sonic warped upwards, following up with charging up bluish white energy in his hands. After cupping his hands in front of him, he fired a wave of energy that was the same color. Malice cackled, conjured up his red energy shield and charged straight through the energy beam. As he neared Sonic, he thrust an open hand in front of him, grasping his hand at the hedgehog's neck and stooping his attack. Sonic gasped for breath once more as Malice lowered to the moon. Said robot's feet landed on the surface of the moon and threw Sonic down. Then, keeping hold of Sonic's neck, he swung and smashed his fist at Sonic's body.

"What's wrong!?" he taunted Sonic. "Slowing down!?"

"Ack..."

"Can't keep up with me, can you!? Muahahaha!"

As Sonic continued to take the beating, his vision began to blur. Was this the end? Would Sonic the Hedgehog die on Mobius' moon? No, that couldn't be! Sonic always won! Tails said so himself! This couldn't be the end, right? Suddenly, Sonic couldn't feel any pain. What was weird was that Malice was still beating him up. Sonic could hear voices, his friends' voices. It was actually soothing...

* * *

_As Sonic struggled to get up, he heard the sound of bodies crashing to the ground. They were his friends! He had no time! he picked up speed and rushed to where they landed: next to the extinct volcano. There, he saw Malice, crossing his arms and laughing, though he ignored Sonic's presence._

_"Well, well, well. This is the last stand of Mobius' heroes," he taunted the now wounded five. They noticed Sonic and gave sorrowful looks to the blue hedgehog. Malice had noticed this. "And I see you are still alive. My, my. Look at what your friends have done. They've doomed this planet."_

_"Urgh... No... No, we haven't," Tails managed to say with a smile. "Sonic's back... and he'll finish this..." Turning to Sonic, the fox told his best friend, "You can do it... You always do..."_

_"Sonic..." Knuckles began to speak up. "Tails is right... You can smack this guy, like you smack every other bad guy..."_

_"Blaze and I... We haven't known you as long as we would have liked to..." Silver managed to say. "But in the couple of months we have, we already know that you're a great hero..."_

_"You can do it, Sonic..." Blaze encouraged Sonic with a slight smile. "For the planet... For us..."_

_"I... I'm with them..." Shadow smirked slightly. "I would come and help you, as I've done before... But look at me... Clearly, you're the only one... The only one to save us all from him..."_

_"Sonic... Everyone else agrees..." Tails confirmed. "We believe in you... I believe in you..."_

* * *

Sonic shut his eyes. He ignored the pain he was feeling from Malice's attacks. All that was in his mind was how much everyone believed in him. He had to give it another shot!

"Ready to give up?" Malice taunted him. He was to swing his fist at his face, but Sonic opened his eyes and just managed to catch the fist.

"Not yet," Sonic smirked, before swinging his head at Malice to headbutt him away from him. He warped away.

"What!? How!? This wasn't supposed to happen!" Malice suddenly keeled over, then was sent flying away.

Sonic rushed at Malice, but warped just as he was in front of him. However, instead of attacking from behind, he let the robot see him and warp behind him again. He repeated this action until Malice felt frustration and fired a blind shot for Sonic to charge through, then barrage at him. The hedgehog finished by smashing his fist at Malice's stomach, then hammering him back to the surface of the moon. Then, he dashed downwards and attempted to stomp on him, but Malice rolled away, then fired a flurry of energy blasts, all of which were blocked easily. Filled with even more desperation, Malice continually swung his fist at Sonic, who warped away from every swing.

"Why!?" he roared in agony. "Why can't I attack you now!?"

Suddenly, Sonic appeared in front of him, smiling, "I have friends who believe in me."

He placed a hand in front of Malice, focusing plenty of energy into it, forming a blue aura around his hand. In time, it grew and Sonic was ready. However, Malice took advantage and warped behind the hedgehog. but Sonic expected it. He turned around. He dashed at his opponent. With his other hand, he slammed him down and held him there.

All that could be seen next was an eruption of bluish white energy.

* * *

Could this be the end of Malice's terror? Has Sonic overcome his enemy once again, or will there be a twist? Find out in the finale of 'An Old Friend, Now An Enemy Again'!

~Have a great day, week, fortnight, month, whatever~


	13. Changes For The Better

**I own no Sonic characters. Credits to Sega.**

* * *

This is a sequel to 'Metal Sonic's Rebellion'. To entertain yourselves or get the backstory to this fic, check it out first.

If you've just come from this chapter, please read from the beginning to avoid any confusion.

* * *

A crater was formed on Mobius' moon. Sonic floated above it in victory. He looked down in the crater formed by his finishing attack. A robot was laying there. This robot had a gray body with a yellow horn on its head and yellow fins on the horn, arms and legs. On the horn was a blue third eye. The robot shook slightly. Electricity crackled.

"Is... that... you?" the robot called out.

"Wha...?"

"Sonic... You are... Sonic... Right...? It's me... Gemerl..."

"Gemerl..."

"Well... If I wasn't... I wouldn't have said that... Heh heh..."

Coming to the realization that he truly was back. Sonic rushed down to Gemerl's level and hugged him tightly, as did Gemerl. it was a warm hug, one filled with friendship, like the others that were shared by the two. However, Gemerl broke off quicker than Sonic expected. Gemerl groaned in slight pain as he held his head.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sonic asked him. "No.. Don't tell me... that..."

"He's... still... here..." Gemerl said softly, each word between electric crackles.

"Who?"

"Tails Doll..."

"Oh no... No, Gemerl. You can't just give in this time! You have to fight it!"

Gemerl's body shook violently. In seconds, he forced Sonic away from him.

"It's too late, Sonic!" the voice of Tails Doll roared from Gemerl. "He's gone!"

Suddenly, the robot body shook again. He howled in pain, keeled over and gripped his head with his hands. Two voices battled it out inside his head.

_"It's never too late!" the voice of Gemerl shouted._

_"What!? How!?" came the voice of Tails Doll._

_"I won't let you control me anymore! I'm free from Eggman Nega's curse and I'm free from yours, too, Tails Doll!"_

"Yes, that's it!" Sonic cheered. "Take control, Gemerl!"

As the robot body continued to shake even more violently than before, Sonic could somehow see the faint image of Gemerl strangling Tails Doll. The doll's cries of anger and pain were heard as he continued to suffocate. For a moment, the image disappeared from Sonic's eyes, only to be replaced by something else. A soul, a dark soul which resembled the body of Tails Doll, was seen. It had an enraged look on its 'face' and seemed to be forced out of the body. The body, on the other hand, was surrounded with waves of electricity. Sonic heard the crackles and shielded his eyes to the sheer brightness of the electricity. When the hedgehog uncovered his eyes, he saw Gemerl on the surface. He rushed to him and shook him in hopes of waking him up.

"Gemerl, get up!" he shouted. "Gemerl! Gemerl!" One more electric crackle was heard, then Sonic saw the robot's head rise slightly, to the hedgehog's joy and relief.

"Sonic? Buddy?"

"Yeah, it's me," Sonic smiled. "You okay?"

"I feel... weird... But... I think I'll be..." Gemerl couldn't finish. Sonic assumed that his body couldn't take what was going on in his head, so he picked him up and headed for home, after a hard fought battle.

"Welcome back, Gemerl," Sonic smiled to his unconscious friend.

The hedgehog slowly flew back to his home planet. The reason for his unusual slowness was to think about all that had happened:

Metal Sonic and Mecha Sonic going against Eggman two weeks ago...

_"I, METAL SONIC, WILL TAKE OVER THIS WORLD AND WILL RID MYSELF OF ALL OBSTACLES."_

_"ALL THE EMERALDS ARE REQUIRED FOR METAL SONIC'S PLAN. WHEN WE HAVE ABSORBED ALL OF THEM, WE WILL DESTROY ALL OF YOU."_

Gemerl's return to the bad side...

_"I have seen the light. Dr Eggman Nega has brought back to reality. My 'upgrade' confirmed some things for me. That trust brings betrayal. That friends being weakness!"_

Gemerl becoming Malice with Tails Doll...

_"Hmph. It is your own fault that you failed, so you shall carry out your plans yourself, while I fulfil the doctors' orders."_

_"It is a shame that you are unwilling to cooperate, even after hearing my story. I'm afraid I will have to take your body by force!"_

Metal Sonic and Mecha Sonic's destruction...

_"FORGIVE ME... DOCTOR EGGMAN... I... HAVE... FAILED..."_

_"JUST REMEMBER THIS! I MAY HAVE LOST TODAY, BUT AT LEAST I'LL GO DOWN KNOWING THAT I'VE FINALLY KILLED YOU!"_

And finally, the recent return of Gemerl...

___"I won't let you control me anymore! I'm free from Eggman Nega's curse and I'm free from yours, too, Tails Doll!"_

_"Take control, Gemerl!"_

With Metal Sonic and Mecha Sonic out of the picture, times were sure to change for Sonic and friends. Admittedly, Sonic would miss his two robot clones. He considered them his arch rivals. Yes, there was Shadow, but lately, it seemed to be a friendly rivalry. Yes, there was Knuckles, but the two and Tails consider each other best friends. Sonic also admitted to himself that Eggman did a pretty good job when making his robot clones. They were the ones to come back for rematches and not get destroyed in the first match. His friends may have considered them 'flies', but in the end, Sonic would miss Metal and Mecha. With them out of the picture, things would never be the same...

But Sonic couldn't ponder on the past and what this would affect any longer. Suddenly, in Mobius' atmosphere, he felt his power fading. His breaths lingered for longer and sounded more raspy. His fur and quills returned to their multi colored state, then their golden yellow state, then finally, their regular blue state. His quills were no longer pointed upwards and his power had faded. Because Sonic could no longer fly, he began to fall down into Mobius' ground, but he kept hold of Gemerl throughout. Where they would land, Sonic wouldn't know... They rocketed through the clouds and sky, not knowing their destination.

Through the blurred sky, Sonic began to notice signs of civilization! There was a shoreline and an ocean beside it. Sonic peered ahead of it and noticed rooftops, roads and tree tops. From the corner of his eye, he could also see a hilltop! Could this be? Was Sonic where he thought he would be?

Suddenly, there was a figure that emerged from the hilltop. Who was that? Sonic made assumptions, but the identity of the figure became clearer to him. It was a plane, a plane piloted by a fox. What fox did Sonic know that could fly a plane?

"SOOOOONNIIIIIIIC!"

"Huh!? Tails!?"

Tails was overjoyed to see Sonic alive. As he ascended closer to Sonic, he began to notice that his best friend was holding someone. Was it what he thought it was? Tails flew even higher and identified the figure to be a robot, but as he neared Sonic, he realized that it wasn't just a robot.

"Gemerl!?"

Sonic landed on the wing of the Tornado on his two feet, keeping hold of Gemerl. Tails turned to the robot Sonic held and was filled with joy. Immediately, the fox descended down to land the Tornado.

"I knew you would come back, Sonic!" Tails cried happily, tears flowing down his eyes. If he wasn't focusing on landing the plane, he would hug his friend as tight as he could. "I just knew you would!"

"Heh heh!" Sonic grinned, giving his fox friend a thumbs up and a wink. "Did you think I would let you guys down?"

"You sure worried us all, Sonic the Hedgehog!" a female voice sobbed. The Tornado had landed at the foot of Emerald Hill. Sonic turned around to see all his friends overjoyed, but one girl stood out: Amy Rose.

Sonic hopped out of the Tornado and planted a kiss on her lips. Immediately, Amy slapped him!

"Don't! Ever! Worry! Me! Ever! Again!" she wept. "You could have died out there!"

"I'm sorry, Amy," Sonic apologized genuinely. "Truly sorry." His grin returned. "But I'm back. Back on the planet as cool as I am!"

"Oh, Sonic!" Amy tackled Sonic to the ground and wrapped her arms around him. The two pressed their lips against each other, keeping their arms around each other. They were back in their own world once more. But they knew it couldn't last, so eventually, they broke off.

"Welcome back, my dear Sonic," Amy sighed happily.

"Nice to be back," Sonic smiled warmly.

"Sonic!" two voices called for him. They belonged to Silver and Blaze. Sonic turned around to see the two in each other's arms.

"Great job, Sonic," Silver said.

"We knew you could do it," Blaze added.

"And I knew you could so it, too," Sonic grinned.

"W-What are you t-talking about?" Blaze stuttered, blushing as red as fire.

"I see you made your move and confessed, Silver!"

"W-What!?"

"What's with you and Blaze in each other's arms?"

"It... It... It was just cold! That's all!" Blaze obviously lied.

Sonic caught on and made a witty remark, gaining laughs from everyone in the vicinity. He saw Tails and Cream stop laughing first and turn to the unconscious Gemerl.

"Is he okay? Please tell me Gemerl's okay!" Cream pleaded Sonic.

"Yeah. He is. He's just a little tired."

"A lot has happened to him," Tails said. "His body might not have been able to handle it. Repairs may be in order." At first, the fox didn't notice Sonic looking up to the moon in deep thought. After realizing this, he asked his friend if he was okay.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine," Sonic answered. "It's just..."

"Hey, don't worry about a thing," Knuckles reassured him, placing a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "The bad guys are gone and it seems Eggman has retreated."

"It's not that," Sonic sighed.

"A lot has changed in these battles," Shadow mused, not knowing that he read Sonic's thoughts.

"Yes, it has." Sonic and Shadow began to walk up the top of Emerald Hill. "Hey, Shadow?"

"What?"

"Is it... Is it wrong to think that I'll miss Metal and Mecha Sonic?"

"Hm? And why is that?"

"With them gone, things just won't be the same again... I think Eggman did a pretty good job when making those two because they were always the ones to come back for rematches..."

"..."

"..."

"Just forget about it."

"What?"

"Look at me. I used to dwell on my past for the longest time. But what's done is done. There's nothing you can do to change it. Sonic, just forget about them and move on."

"..."

The future of the planet was as bright as the moon in the sky. Thanks to Sonic and friends, the world was at peace once again. Though things have changed, they were mostly for the better...

* * *

**~Credits~**

* * *

**~Written By~**

UpbeatButNegative

* * *

**~Edited By~**

UpbeatButNegative

* * *

**~Uploaded By~**

UpbeatButNegative

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**~Added To Story Alerts By~**

PnFfan101

The DragonLord2912

TheBlueAlienRobotZombie

* * *

**~Favorited By~**

AnimeFanGirl7218

The DragonLord2912

TheBlueAlienRobotZombie

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**~Cast (all owned by Sega)~**

Everyone as themselves

* * *

**~Inspiration~**

This is a sequel, continuing on a cliffhanger at the end of the prequel. Did you really think I would leave you guys hanging on the cliff?

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~This has been UpbeatButNegative, signing out. I'll see you whenever~


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